40
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75TheWrapWilliam BibbianiTheWrapWilliam BibbianiFireworks takes you on that little journey. It may affect you deeply, or it may just come and go, a fizzling sentimental aside in an otherwise hectic day. But it’s hard to deny that it approaches its fantastical story with maturity and grace, and a thoughtfulness about what it would truly mean to leap into a “what if” and seriously consider never coming out again.
- 60The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawIt’s confusing and disorientating but brings back dreamy teen angst like the strongest of madeleines.
- 50Screen DailyLee MarshallScreen DailyLee MarshallThere are more engaging fireworks, or at least small sparks, when the film begins to dig into the feelings, friendships and jealousies of its two main protagonists.
- 45Film Journal InternationalStephen WhittyFilm Journal InternationalStephen WhittyDespite its novel plot, and some lovely music and incidental artwork—the title fireworks, the rugged seaside and that glittery magic ball are all beautifully rendered—the film quickly drags.
- 40Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangLos Angeles TimesJustin ChangFor all its temporal twists and lyrical, sometimes remarkably photorealistic backdrops, Shinbo’s movie has none of “Your Name’s” narrative intricacy or stunning visual richness, much less its radical cross-gender empathy. These Fireworks look depressingly flat from any angle.
- 40The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe unrealized potential makes the rote line style and stagnant backdrops seem all the blander.
- 40Village VoiceSherilyn ConnellyVillage VoiceSherilyn ConnellyWhere Your Name’s star-crossed protagonists were fully formed characters who held equal weight in the narrative, Fireworks is very much told from the male point of view, and Nazuna seldom rises above “free-spirited object of desire.”
- 38Slant MagazineDerek SmithSlant MagazineDerek SmithAkiyuki Shinbo and Nobuyuki Takeuchi's time-travel device mostly just exists to complicate what is, at heart, a trite and sexist love story.
- 38RogerEbert.comChristy LemireRogerEbert.comChristy LemireA strange little movie that attempts the tricky feat of combining comedy, drama, sci-fi and romance, but it doesn’t get those individual elements right so it never coheres as a whole.
- 33The Film StageJared MobarakThe Film StageJared MobarakWhat should be tender and whimsical feels repetitive and off-putting.