The Finest Hours's reviews
Media reviews
The Playlist
An old-fashioned tale of heroism in the face of insurmountable odds, The Finest Hours is never less than aggressively hokey and manipulatively sentimental ? and, in the end, better off for it.
Entertainment Weekly
An intermittently affecting, sanded-edge adventure that feels as if it trundled off the studio production line back when Eisenhower was in office.
The Wrap
This is the sort of film in which we?re told that a certain action is impossible, until it isn?t, or that a certain thing would never happen, and then it does, so even with all those lives on the line, the movie can?t effectively build up stakes or consequences.
Chicago Sun-Times
'The Finest Hours' feels stitched together. None of the three main plot lines is particularly powerful or moving.
Variety
A disaster drama perfectly entertaining, sometimes quite well done, which however is removed from memory as soon as the credits appear
The Hollywood Reporter
At the helm of this ultra-earnest entertainment, with its expository dialogue and meticulous visuals, Craig Gillespie isn?t able to conjure a stirring cinematic experience. The pieces don?t fuse so much as fit together, and much of the action feels instructive rather than immersive.