47
Metascore
27 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 63USA TodayClaudia PuigUSA TodayClaudia PuigA wide-eyed 4-year-old makes a fairly convincing case for the existence of an afterlife in Heaven is for Real. But it's Greg Kinnear — with his characteristic affability — that just about seals the deal.
- 63Chicago Sun-TimesBill ZweckerChicago Sun-TimesBill ZweckerThis company of actors pulls together and delivers a lot of punch to a pedestrian script inspired by quite an amazing tale.
- 60VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangThose willing to engage may be pleasantly surprised by some of its understated virtues.
- 50New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickA fine cast headed by the underrated Greg Kinnear lifts this year’s third major religious movie, the fact-inspired Heaven Is for Real, somewhat beyond its Hallmark Channel-caliber script and visuals.
- 50McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreMcClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreWhatever the film’s other failings, it presents an incredible story with a credulous, approachable innocence that it to be envied, whether or not you believe a word of it.
- 50St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsSt. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsWritten, directed and acted by Hollywood pros, Heaven Is For Real is a polished little movie with a hopeful message, but when it literalizes the divine mysteries, it opens the door to a Doubting Thomas.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberThe Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberWallace made a lot of shrewd decisions to sock this movie home, but he can’t entirely overcome the dramatic thinness of the original material.
- 50Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyLos Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyWhat the movie could use is a little more faith — in the power of its message and the art of filmmaking. Instead, Heaven is sincere to a fault, and the closer it gets to heaven, the more it wavers.
- 50The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyUnfortunately, Heaven Is For Real isn’t really a movie about religion so much as an attempt to appeal to the broadest possible audience of conservative evangelicals.
- 25Slant MagazineDrew HuntSlant MagazineDrew HuntHeaven Is for Real is by Christians, for Christians, and deliberately, if subtly, antagonistic toward everyone else.