‘Blitz' Reviews Are Mixed-To-Positive: “Overly Clichéd" and “Shockingly Conventional" [Updated]

UPDATE: It has a 76 Metascore which is far higher than I expected.

EARLIER: Reactions are okay, with a few glowing exceptions, for Steve McQueen’s “Blitz.” Is this the most poorly reviewed film of McQueen's career? It's starting to look like it, and it’s still sounds like a decent effort.

Variety is calling it “shockingly conventional,” and THR describes the film as “overly clichéd.” There’s genuine respect for the filmmaking, and why wouldn’t there be since this is McQueen, but critics seems to be puzzled at how unoriginal the storytelling is.

Mixed-to-positive takes are coming in from THR, Variety, Awards Watch, Irish Times, Next Best Picture, Screen, Film Stories, HeyUGuys, The Film Stage, South China Morning Post, The Guardian, and BBC.

The outlets that really loved “Blitz” include The Wrap, Collider, The Telegraph, and The Playlist, Total Film, and Digital Spy.

I’m not discounting this film’s Oscar chances, even with these disappointing reviews. As has been mentioned, many times, it’s been a weak year for contenders and the accessible nature of McQueen’s war epic could potentially adhere to the tastes of older Academy voters.

“Blitz” is said to be “pretty straightforward”. It’s a “hero’s journey” of a 9-year-old boy (Elliott Heffernan) trying to get back home to his mother (Saoirse Ronan), while exploring Britain during WWII. The film is intercut with sequences of the mother, named Rita, searching for her son.

This is McQueen’s first PG-13 rated film. It will release in select cinemas on November 1. It’s going to be streaming, on Apple TV+, starting November 22, just three weeks after its theatrical launch.