Enter a Rotten Tomatoes movie slug to inspect the stored movie, batches, snapshots, and reviews.
Movie ID: 1462
RT slug: the_man_who_invented_christmas
RT URL: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_man_who_invented_christmas
Release year: 2017
Runtime: 104 mins
Wide release date: 2017-11-22
Limited release date: —
Festival premiere date: —
Streaming release date: 2018-02-13
Tomatometer final: 79%
Audience score final: 78%
Genres: Biography, Drama, History, Holiday
Directors: Bharat Nalluri
Writers: Susan Coyne
Producers: Ian Sharples, Niv Fichman, Robert Mickelson, Susan Mullen, Vadim Jean
MPAA rating: PG
Executive Producers: —
Created: 2026-10-05 20:50:24
Updated: 2026-10-05 20:50:24
In 1843 London, author Charles Dickens finds himself in financial trouble after writing three unsuccessful novels in a row. Desperate for a hit, Dickens relies on real-life inspiration and his vivid imagination to bring Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim and other classic characters to life in A Christmas Carol, forever changing the holiday season into the celebration known today.
The Man Who Invented Christmas adds holiday magic to the writing of A Christmas Carol, putting a sweetly revisionist spin on the story behind a classic yuletide tale.
Canonical reviews: 170
Canonical fresh: 134
Canonical rotten: 36
Canonical calculated Tomatometer: 170 (134/36), 79% (78.824% raw)
Latest snapshot UTC: 2026-10-05 17:36:35
Snapshot Tomatometer: 79%
Snapshot review count: 170
Snapshot fresh count: 134
Snapshot rotten count: 36
Source note: Imported from manual review paste batch #4365 (full_snapshot)
| Company | Role |
|---|---|
| Bleecker Street Media | distributor |
| Ingenious Media | production |
| Parallel Films | production |
| Rhombus Media | production |
| Billing | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dan Stevens | Charles Dickens |
| 2 | Christopher Plummer | Ebenezer Scrooge |
| 3 | Jonathan Pryce | John Dickens |
| 4 | Justin Edwards | John Forster |
| 5 | Morfydd Clark | Kate Dickens |
| Batch ID | Status | Mode | Created | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1480 | processed | — | 2026-10-05 20:50:24 | Processed successfully into movie_id=1462 using update_mode=merge_non_empty. |
| Batch ID | Local Snapshot | UTC Snapshot | Entered % | Entered Count | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4365 | 2026-10-05 12:36:00 (America/Panama) | 2026-10-05 17:36:35 | 79% | 170 | processed | Mode=full_snapshot. Processed 170 row(s); 0 row error(s). Parsed unique reviews in this batch=170, fresh=134, rotten=36, tomatometer=79%. Net new reviews added=170, fresh=134, rotten=36. Current canonical totals=170 reviews, 134 fresh, 36 rotten, tomatometer=79% (78.824%). Entered review count matched parsed batch count (170). Entered tomatometer matched parsed batch value (79%). |
| ID | Critic | Outlet | Fresh? | Score | RT Time Raw | Approx Published UTC | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 287110 | Matt Brunson | Film Frenzy | Fresh | 3/4 | 2021-08-31T17:32:21.000Z | 2021-08-31 17:32:21 | A warm PG-rated feature for families with older kids who won't grow restless with its adult preoccupations and leisurely pace. |
| 287111 | Joanne Laurier | World Socialist Web Site | Rotten | — | 2021-02-21T14:50:28.000Z | 2021-02-21 14:50:28 | The simplistic, unnecessarily slight film makes only insubstantial, passing references to poverty among children-a major issue then as it is today. |
| 287112 | Richard Crouse | Richard Crouse | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2021-02-03T21:31:09.000Z | 2021-02-03 21:31:09 | A festive film, a movie for the holidays that reminds us of the spirit of the season. No "Bah! Humbugs" here. |
| 287113 | Dan Buffa | KSDK News (St. Louis) | Fresh | — | 2020-11-06T00:51:57.000Z | 2020-11-06 00:51:57 | I get the need to try and tell this story again, but I would have preferred a different method or flavor to the classic tale. |
| 287114 | Richard Propes | TheIndependentCritic.com | Fresh | 2.5/4.0 | 2020-09-15T20:42:07.000Z | 2020-09-15 20:42:07 | Christopher Plummer, as the inspiration for Dickens' story, is the film's shining star. |
| 287115 | David Lamble | Bay Area Reporter | Fresh | — | 2020-06-03T23:00:49.000Z | 2020-06-03 23:00:49 | [The Man Who Invented Christmas] joins a flood of Dickens on film that would melt the heart of the meanest miser. |
| 287116 | Steven Prokopy | Third Coast Review | Fresh | — | 2020-05-19T20:21:04.000Z | 2020-05-19 20:21:04 | A whirlwind tour of a beloved writer during one of the most stressful, agonizing times in his life. |
| 287117 | Dan Scully | Cinema76 | Rotten | — | 2020-03-24T18:20:50.000Z | 2020-03-24 18:20:50 | The Man Who Invented Christmas is a powerfully boring film. |
| 287118 | Sarah Knight Adamson | Sarah's Backstage Pass | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2020-01-28T20:01:33.000Z | 2020-01-28 20:01:33 | As a Dickens fan myself, I appreciated the films attempt to bring the author to the forefront... |
| 287119 | Jeff Mitchell | Phoenix Film Festival | Rotten | 1.5/4 | 2019-07-02T19:51:41.000Z | 2019-07-02 19:51:41 | Does 'The Man Who Invented Christmas' work? Humbug. |
| 287120 | Ellie Lucas | The Dispatch (Lexington, NC) | Rotten | 2/4 | 2019-06-04T03:15:59.000Z | 2019-06-04 03:15:59 | Builds to a climax with an attempt to psychoanalyze Dickens that is half-baked at best, historically irresponsible at worst. |
| 287121 | Kaitlyn Booth | Bleeding Cool | Fresh | 8.5/10 | 2019-05-16T22:36:39.000Z | 2019-05-16 22:36:39 | The Man Who Invented Christmas manages to take the concept of getting over writers block a compelling watch in a movie. |
| 287122 | Cate Marquis | We Are Movie Geeks | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2019-04-26T21:21:17.000Z | 2019-04-26 21:21:17 | As a holiday movie, The Man Who Invented Christmas fits the bill, offering an inventive way to re-tell this beloved story. |
| 287123 | Francis X. Friel | Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2019-03-21T18:57:14.000Z | 2019-03-21 18:57:14 | A great supporting cast and beautiful photography capturing a fairy-tale-like 19th-century London. |
| 287124 | Víctor López G. | Espinof | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2019-03-04T21:26:28.000Z | 2019-03-04 21:26:28 | The warmth of its message and its impeccable cast make this a welcome addition to Christmas cinema. [Full Review in Spanish] |
| 287125 | Rachel Wagner | rachelsreviews.net | Fresh | A | 2019-03-04T17:27:38.000Z | 2019-03-04 17:27:38 | I love Christmas movies. So it didn't have to do much to win me over. |
| 287126 | Allen Adams | The Maine Edge | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2019-02-08T19:42:20.000Z | 2019-02-08 19:42:20 | The Man Who Invented Christmas doesn't bring a lot to the table. The story that it tells simply isn't engaging enough, despite the best efforts of Plummer, Stevens and company to liven it up. |
| 287127 | Marisa Carpico | The Pop Break | Rotten | 4.5/10 | 2018-12-25T16:45:18.000Z | 2018-12-25 16:45:18 | Despite its pedigree, the film can't quite avoid a degree of Lifetime movie-ness. |
| 287128 | Jordi Costa | El Pais (Spain) | Fresh | — | 2018-12-03T00:25:24.000Z | 2018-12-03 00:25:24 | Dan Stevens incarnates a Dickens prone to pyrotechnics gestures to which the reality unfolds before his eyes as incessant buffet free of stimuli. [Full Review in Spanish] |
| 287129 | John Hanlon | John Hanlon Reviews | Fresh | 3.0/4 | 2018-11-19T00:40:29.000Z | 2018-11-19 00:40:29 | By focusing on Charles Dickens himself, the filmmakers find a fitting new way to bring a well-known story to the big screen. |
| 287130 | Sarah Cartland | Caution Spoilers | Fresh | 4/5 | 2018-11-10T17:10:23.000Z | 2018-11-10 17:10:23 | Beautiful and darkly festive. Dan Stevens' Dickens is prone to bah humbug, with six weeks to write a Christmas classic. Victorian London is bustling and clean; Plummer's Scrooge dour and mocking; gratifyingly, ordinary people are assumed to be well-read. |
| 287131 | Amelie Lasker | FF2 Media | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2018-08-26T02:20:10.000Z | 2018-08-26 02:20:10 | Though not as full of fantasy and pathos as the original story of A Christmas Carol, Dickens's personal journey makes for a charming Christmas movie. |
| 287132 | Anne Brodie | What She Said | Fresh | — | 2018-08-24T18:11:19.000Z | 2018-08-24 18:11:19 | The film's a delight, it's festive, sweet, darkly funny, pretty to look at and pure family fun. |
| 287133 | Ferdosa | Geeks of Color | Fresh | — | 2018-08-16T18:18:43.000Z | 2018-08-16 18:18:43 | It is fascinating to watch how A Christmas Carol comes to be as it is more than just the novella that is responsible for the many Christmas traditions practiced today, but it is the result of a personal evolution for Dickens'. |
| 287134 | Tom Santilli | AXS.com | Rotten | C | 2018-08-14T17:02:30.000Z | 2018-08-14 17:02:30 | ...this is one holiday movie that's as forgettable as a wadded-up piece of wrapping paper, and should be discarded just as quickly. |
| 287135 | Laura Hiros | Diario La Estrella (Fort Worth, TX) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2018-03-14T20:06:08.000Z | 2018-03-14 20:06:08 | Excellent performances, colorful scenes... and an extraordinary story create a solid film that will fascination lovers of literature and the Victorian era. [Full review in Spanish] |
| 287136 | Megan Basham | WORLD | Fresh | — | 2018-02-01T21:50:29.000Z | 2018-02-01 21:50:29 | The film's lighthearted tone imagines the author as a sort of literary Forrest Gump, lucking his way into overhearing brilliant dialogue and accidentally crossing paths with people who inspire his most beloved work. |
| 287137 | Francesca Rudkin | New Zealand Herald | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2017-12-27T00:42:04.000Z | 2017-12-27 00:42:04 | Just like Stevens as Dickens, The Man Who Invented Christmas is immensely likeable, and undoubtedly will having you leaving the theatre feeling more festive than when you entered. |
| 287138 | Tim Brayton | Alternate Ending | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2017-12-26T08:40:06.000Z | 2017-12-26 08:40:06 | An overall very calming, pleasant mediocrity. |
| 287139 | Diane Pershing | Malibu Times | Fresh | — | 2017-12-18T17:55:15.000Z | 2017-12-18 17:55:15 | An unexpected pleasure. |
| 287140 | Rich Cline | Contactmusic.com | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2017-12-18T00:00:11.000Z | 2017-12-18 00:00:11 | There's a somewhat contrived jauntiness to this blending of fact and fiction that may leave cynical audiences annoyed. But for those who leave their bah-humbug attitudes at home, it's a wonderfully entertaining take on a classic. |
| 287141 | Matthew Toomey | ABC Radio (Australia) | Rotten | C+ | 2017-12-16T23:40:06.000Z | 2017-12-16 23:40:06 | Given the number of successful adaptations of Dickens' work, what is this film trying to add that hasn't already been achieved? |
| 287142 | Linda Cook | Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | Fresh | 3.5/4 | 2017-12-13T13:00:12.000Z | 2017-12-13 13:00:12 | I admit a bias here. Two biases, in fact. British authors are among my favorite writers. And 'A Christmas Carol' is among my favorite books. So te combination in 'The Man Who Invented Christmas' already appealed to me. |
| 287143 | Jim Schembri | 3AW | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-12-13T05:40:10.000Z | 2017-12-13 05:40:10 | Charming, souffle-lite Christmas tale from British director Bharat Nalluri (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day) about the imaginary adventure the young Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) went through while suffering a rare case of writer's block. |
| 287144 | Austin Trunick | Under the Radar | Fresh | 5.5/10 | 2017-12-13T00:55:14.000Z | 2017-12-13 00:55:14 | The Man Who Invented Christmas is a hokey-yet-charming, family-friendly holiday film, telling the (mostly) true story behind one of the best-known and frequently-adapted literary works of all time. |
| 287145 | Harvey S. Karten | Shockya.com | Fresh | B | 2017-12-12T18:45:11.000Z | 2017-12-12 18:45:11 | The title character, Charles Dickens is played by an actor whose wide-eyed stares projects "this is for children" but a movie which is absorbing enough for adults. |
| 287146 | Steve Persall | Tampa Bay Times | Fresh | B | 2017-12-11T19:50:16.000Z | 2017-12-11 19:50:16 | The Man Who Invented Christmas is good at its feel-iest, a beloved but stale tale retold with novelty while revealing an interesting rest of the story. |
| 287147 | Robert Roten | Laramie Movie Scope | Fresh | C+ | 2017-12-10T18:55:08.000Z | 2017-12-10 18:55:08 | Overall, this is an instructive look into the history of Charles Dickens and the creative process behind his famous, popular book. However, it seemed overly long and I found the resolution to Dickens' writer's block problem less than convincing. |
| 287148 | Aine O'Connor | Sunday Independent (Ireland) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2017-12-08T18:25:29.000Z | 2017-12-08 18:25:29 | It's simple, nice and very enjoyable. |
| 287149 | CJ Johnson | Film Mafia | Fresh | 4/5 | 2017-12-08T06:10:09.000Z | 2017-12-08 06:10:09 | You'll come for the promise - fulfilled - of excellent production design and a feast of fabulous British thespians, but you'll stay for the surprisingly engaging story. |
| 287150 | Marie Asner | Phantom Tollbooth | Fresh | 4/5 | 2017-12-07T23:00:36.000Z | 2017-12-07 23:00:36 | This movie is a top-notch production and my guess is that it will appear in movie theaters as a special each year, or at least, on television as a favorite. |
| 287151 | Ron Wilkinson | It's Just Movies | Fresh | 8/10 | 2017-12-07T19:40:26.000Z | 2017-12-07 19:40:26 | A clever rendition of the ghosts of Christmas tales past. |
| 287152 | tt stern-enzi | Dayton CityPaper | Fresh | B | 2017-12-07T19:25:30.000Z | 2017-12-07 19:25:30 | Stevens, in The Man Who Invented Christmas, is cementing another monumental stepping stone in his path, bridging the divide between characters and audiences. Talk about a gift that keeps on giving. |
| 287153 | Bob Grimm | Reno News and Review | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-12-07T17:20:17.000Z | 2017-12-07 17:20:17 | The film features Dickens conferring with the fictional characters in his story as he creates them, so we get an Ebenezer Scrooge, this time played by the great Christopher Plummer. Of course, he winds up being perfect for the role. |
| 287154 | Wenlei Ma | News.com.au | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-12-07T06:20:09.000Z | 2017-12-07 06:20:09 | The Man Who Invented Christmas isn't a barnstormer but it's exactly the kind of holiday fare that will cure a bout of humbugness. Bring the family. |
| 287155 | Robert Kojder | Flickering Myth | Rotten | 2/5 | 2017-12-06T03:22:08.000Z | 2017-12-06 03:22:08 | It loses its way and literally becomes another A Christmas Carol, so why watch this when one countless other and undeniably better adaptations exist? |
| 287156 | Kam Williams | Baret News | Fresh | 3/4 | 2017-12-04T04:50:06.000Z | 2017-12-04 04:50:06 | Merry Capitalism! |
| 287157 | Edward Porter | Sunday Times (UK) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-12-04T00:35:11.000Z | 2017-12-04 00:35:11 | It's an unwieldy concept -- an English literature lesson in pageant form -- but the results are at least colourful and perky. |
| 287158 | Matthew Bond | The Mail on Sunday (UK) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2017-12-04T00:05:07.000Z | 2017-12-04 00:05:07 | It's a familiar tale and, as Dickens's study fills with his own fictional characters, comparisons with The Muppet Christmas Carol are difficult to shake off. |
| 287160 | Andy Lea | Daily Express (UK) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2017-12-03T12:30:08.000Z | 2017-12-03 12:30:08 | The film's best sections involve Plummer, who on this evidence would make a great Scrooge in the 20th straight adaptation of the novella. They should have bitten the bullet and made that instead. |
| 287159 | Allan Hunter | Daily Express (UK) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-12-03T12:30:08.000Z | 2017-12-03 12:30:08 | It is all a bit frantic and flippant but if you are looking for something to fill you with festive spirit then you could do worse. |
| 287161 | Dan Jolin | Empire Magazine | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-12-03T12:30:07.000Z | 2017-12-03 12:30:07 | A lightweight, tinselly film with some nice touches and appealing performances, though it never lands its darker moments. |
| 287162 | Simran Hans | Observer (UK) | Rotten | 1/5 | 2017-12-03T12:20:08.000Z | 2017-12-03 12:20:08 | There are a few bright spots, like Christopher Plummer's Scrooge, but with its too-bright visuals and laboured dialogue, at best, the film belongs on television. |
| 287163 | Stephen Romei | The Australian | Fresh | 3.5/5 | 2017-12-01T23:56:57.000Z | 2017-12-01 23:56:57 | The Man Who Invented Christmas, however, is a festive treat, in no small part because it's not about Christmas. It's about one of the most famous authors we know and how he overcame the writer's block equivalent of Santa being stuck in the chimney. |
| 287164 | Laura Kenna | Christianity Today | Fresh | — | 2017-12-01T21:20:17.000Z | 2017-12-01 21:20:17 | Dan Stevens delivers an eccentric, anxious, animated young Dickens to the screen. |
| 287165 | Tara Brady | Irish Times | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-12-01T21:00:21.000Z | 2017-12-01 21:00:21 | Susan Coyne's smart screenplay sees these real world antecedents rubbing shoulders with composite characters (notably Tara, an Irish maid with a flair for ghost stories) and Dickens getting into loud arguments with his fictional creations. |
| 287166 | Peter Bradshaw | Guardian | Rotten | 1/5 | 2017-12-01T17:45:22.000Z | 2017-12-01 17:45:22 | This entirely terrible film feels about as Christmassy as watching England go out of the World Cup at the group stage. |
| 287167 | Ashley Menzel | We Live Entertainment | Fresh | 9/10 | 2017-12-01T05:30:12.000Z | 2017-12-01 05:30:12 | A truly sensational story of the creation of Christmas as we know it and a wonderful addition to the holiday season. |
| 287169 | Jamie East | The Sun (UK) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-12-01T01:52:16.000Z | 2017-12-01 01:52:16 | A proper family film. |
| 287168 | Brian Viner | Daily Mail (UK) | Rotten | 2/5 | 2017-12-01T01:52:16.000Z | 2017-12-01 01:52:16 | The Man Who Invented Christmas is a bit of a turkey, albeit with all the trimmings. |
| 287171 | Sandra Hall | Sydney Morning Herald | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-12-01T01:52:15.000Z | 2017-12-01 01:52:15 | There's enough here to justify the effort of suspending disbelief. And it is full of the Christmas spirit. |
| 287170 | Alistair Harkness | Scotsman | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-12-01T01:52:15.000Z | 2017-12-01 01:52:15 | While no turkey, the end result is mostly a lot of whimsical nonsense. |
| 287172 | Tim Robey | Daily Telegraph (UK) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-12-01T01:37:07.000Z | 2017-12-01 01:37:07 | A perkily unpretentious film that trundles along fine as bookish entertainment. |
| 287173 | Janet Smith | Georgia Straight | Fresh | — | 2017-12-01T00:30:36.000Z | 2017-12-01 00:30:36 | Yes, The Man Who Invented Christmas is creative and fresh enough to fit as smoothly as gingerbread and eggnog into your holiday ritual. |
| 287174 | Tim Appelo | AARP Movies for Grownups | Fresh | 4/5 | 2017-11-30T22:52:16.000Z | 2017-11-30 22:52:16 | Like Shakespeare in Love or Finding Neverland, the film depicts the visions and revisions leading up to a masterpiece, the random bits of life that intrude on the author and flow out of his pen to the page. |
| 287175 | Jim Lane | Sacramento News & Review | Rotten | 2/5 | 2017-11-30T20:02:46.000Z | 2017-11-30 20:02:46 | The impression, despite Paki Smith's sumptuous Victorian production design, is one of constant, cheesy falsehood and wasted opportunity. |
| 287176 | Sarah McIntyre | RTÉ (Ireland) | Fresh | 4/5 | 2017-11-30T17:05:24.000Z | 2017-11-30 17:05:24 | As excellent as the supporting cast are, this is Dan Stevens' film, and he portrays Dickens as a restless ball of creative energy, toing and froing around London with wildly eccentric charm. |
| 287177 | Larushka Ivan-Zadeh | Metro Newspaper (UK) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-11-30T17:05:23.000Z | 2017-11-30 17:05:23 | Morfydd Clark [is] excellent as Dickens's wife. |
| 287178 | Lisa Jensen | Good Times Santa Cruz | Fresh | 4/4 | 2017-11-30T16:55:18.000Z | 2017-11-30 16:55:18 | Yet this is a highly original work of holiday cheer: witty, bracingly unsentimental (yet honestly moving), and hugely entertaining. |
| 287179 | Phil Hall | Cinema Crazed | Rotten | 0/5 | 2017-11-30T16:05:09.000Z | 2017-11-30 16:05:09 | This film is one holiday gift that deserves to go back to the Returns Department. |
| 287180 | Stefan Pape | HeyUGuys | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-11-30T13:15:28.000Z | 2017-11-30 13:15:28 | While undoubtedly flawed, The Man Who Invited Christmas cannot be accused of being dour, it's an irreverent, festive endeavour that thrives in being over the top and unashamedly entertaining. |
| 287181 | Neil Smith | Total Film | Rotten | 2/5 | 2017-11-30T11:55:18.000Z | 2017-11-30 11:55:18 | Humbug? You said it, Ebenezer. |
| 287182 | Dennis Schwartz | Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews | Fresh | B- | 2017-11-30T10:45:05.000Z | 2017-11-30 10:45:05 | A lighthearted and sentimental holiday film. |
| 287183 | Katherine Monk | Ex-Press.com | Fresh | 4/5 | 2017-11-30T01:25:14.000Z | 2017-11-30 01:25:14 | Plummer's macabre presence makes every scene darker, yet his professional polish sparkles - reflecting lightness in every moment. It's a beautiful balance, and it makes the movie feel a little more special than your average feel-good fruit cake. |
| 287184 | Joanne Soh | The New Paper (Singapore) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-11-29T22:00:15.000Z | 2017-11-29 22:00:15 | A visually impressive and heartwarming tale befitting the festive season. |
| 287185 | James Croot | The Post NZ | Fresh | 4/5 | 2017-11-29T19:00:23.000Z | 2017-11-29 19:00:23 | Based on historian Les Standiford's book of the same name, The Man Who Invented Christmas benefits mostly from some smart casting and lively pacing from director Nalluri (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day). |
| 287186 | Geoffrey Macnab | Independent (UK) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-11-29T19:00:22.000Z | 2017-11-29 19:00:22 | It's very soft-centred but succeeds in casting new light on an episode in its subject's much scrutinised life that hasn't been quite as exhaustively examined as one might have expected. |
| 287187 | Leigh Paatsch | Herald Sun (Australia) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-11-29T18:50:14.000Z | 2017-11-29 18:50:14 | A pleasant enough, if slightly disjointed Christmas film, following a string of hard historical fact with fanciful detours into fiction. |
| 287188 | Nigel Andrews | Financial Times | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-11-29T17:05:11.000Z | 2017-11-29 17:05:11 | We owe today's Xmas and its popular pizzazz to the book, argue the film's makers, and they may be right. |
| 287189 | Yip Wai Yee | The Straits Times (Singapore) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-11-29T16:35:08.000Z | 2017-11-29 16:35:08 | Scrooge, as expected, is the star of the show, with a fantastic Christopher Plummer. |
| 287190 | Adam Fresco | Flicks (AU, NZ, UK) | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-11-29T01:45:22.000Z | 2017-11-29 01:45:22 | Fun family entertainment, far from humbug, but lacking the witty originality of the similarly themed Shakespeare In Love. |
| 287191 | M. Faust | The Public (Buffalo) | Fresh | — | 2017-11-29T00:35:15.000Z | 2017-11-29 00:35:15 | The Man Who Invented Christmas is unlikely to become a classic that families will revisit every December, but it serves its purpose as a pleasant adjunct for those years when you need to take a break from Alastair Sim. |
| 287192 | Eric D. Snider | EricDSnider.com | Fresh | B | 2017-11-28T23:55:16.000Z | 2017-11-28 23:55:16 | An affable and gentle holiday biopic, perfect for a matinee with visiting relatives who need something to shut them up for a couple hours. |
| 287193 | Matthew Turner | The List | Fresh | 3/5 | 2017-11-28T01:27:09.000Z | 2017-11-28 01:27:09 | There's no denying the joy-to-the-world sincerity of this family friendly festive offering, which takes an imaginative look at the inspiration behind Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. |
| 287194 | Julian Wood | FILMINK (Australia) | Fresh | 16/20 | 2017-11-27T21:48:04.000Z | 2017-11-27 21:48:04 | richly-detailed British costume drama |
| 287195 | Sarah Watt | The Post NZ | Fresh | 4/5 | 2017-11-27T20:08:33.000Z | 2017-11-27 20:08:33 | The best of all the Christmas movies coming out on the dot of December, The Man Who Invented Christmas is the tale of Charles Dickens coming up with his classic story A Christmas Carol. |
| 287196 | Vicky Roach | Daily Telegraph (Australia) | Rotten | 2.5/5 | 2017-11-27T19:16:55.000Z | 2017-11-27 19:16:55 | This bite-sized literary biopic takes a good deal of poetic license with Charles Dickens' story around the time he wrote A Christmas Carol. |
| 287197 | John Serba | MLive.com | Fresh | 2.5/4 | 2017-11-27T16:10:12.000Z | 2017-11-27 16:10:12 | It's not all that ambitious, but it is upbeat and occasionally clever. |
| 287198 | Rebecca Murray | Showbiz Junkies | Fresh | B- | 2017-11-27T15:40:07.000Z | 2017-11-27 15:40:07 | The Man Who Invented Christmas is surprisingly sweet and, after a somewhat sluggish start, hits all the right holiday notes. |
| 287199 | Chris Knight | National Post | Fresh | 4.5/5 | 2017-11-27T00:50:08.000Z | 2017-11-27 00:50:08 | By all rights, The Man Who Invented Christmas should be a humbug. Instead, it's a humdinger. |
| 287200 | Christian Toto | HollywoodInToto.com | Fresh | 3/4 | 2017-11-26T15:30:09.000Z | 2017-11-26 15:30:09 | Yes, we needed one more spin on Dickens' most famous tale (although Magoo's version still rocks...). |
| 287201 | Susan Granger | SSG Syndicate | Fresh | 6/10 | 2017-11-25T23:05:07.000Z | 2017-11-25 23:05:07 | A whimsical , endearing trifle... |
| 287202 | Radheyan Simonpillai | NOW Toronto | Rotten | 2/5 | 2017-11-25T05:35:09.000Z | 2017-11-25 05:35:09 | The movie is about launching a product aimed for the holidays while simultaneously being that very thing. |
| 287203 | Chris Bumbray | JoBlo's Movie Network | Fresh | 6/10 | 2017-11-24T19:05:23.000Z | 2017-11-24 19:05:23 | Plays more like good TV than a feature, but a well-acted, unique spin on the classic tale. |
| 287204 | Kate Taylor | Globe and Mail | Fresh | 3/4 | 2017-11-24T18:55:21.000Z | 2017-11-24 18:55:21 | Mainly, the fancy at the centre of The Man Who Invented Christmas provides an unusually kinetic literary biography as the writer races against the clock to master the voices of his obstreperous characters in time for the 25th. |
| 287205 | Peter Howell | Toronto Star | Fresh | 3/4 | 2017-11-24T18:05:17.000Z | 2017-11-24 18:05:17 | A surprisingly fresh movie about a story we all know very well. |
| 287206 | Karen Gordon | Original Cin | Fresh | — | 2017-11-24T13:40:07.000Z | 2017-11-24 13:40:07 | It uses the historical facts as a framework for a clever, fantastical story that works on multiple levels. It dives into Dickens' darkest fears and yet stays lively, joyful and family-friendly. |
| 287207 | Al Alexander | The Patriot Ledger | Fresh | B | 2017-11-23T21:25:05.000Z | 2017-11-23 21:25:05 | It's hard to argue with an invention as amiable as this. |
| 287208 | Adam Graham | Detroit News | Rotten | C | 2017-11-23T17:25:18.000Z | 2017-11-23 17:25:18 | This version of events tends to over-explain the inspiration behind the story, undermining the genius of Dickens as an author. |
| 287209 | Ignatiy Vishnevetsky | AV Club | Rotten | C+ | 2017-11-23T17:00:20.000Z | 2017-11-23 17:00:20 | Nothing against Stevens, but much of the role could have been performed by a cocker spaniel. |
Showing the latest 100 canonical reviews for this movie.