Big Miracle

"While rooting for the marine mammals (and wishing for more footage of them-and even of their animatronic incarnations), your heart will also go out to the cast, stuck even more pitiably in syrupy manufactured crises."

"Given the abundance of one-dimensional human portrayals, it becomes apparent that a documentary on the subject might have been more powerful."

"Not Free Willy but more Free Chilly."

"There may not be a second of say, Whale Rider's lyricism (that's still the best whale movie out there), but this energetic family movie is less insipid than it looks."

"Big Miracle gets off to a shaky start, but once revved up, it becomes an involving work-against-the-clock-and-the-odds action movie."

"The makers attempt to coat their fascinatingly bitter pill with saccharine. They are, however, only partially successful."

"The whales themselves look like they are about to die of boredom."

"Big Miracle shouldn't really work, but it does."

"Big Miracle is harmless enough, but what's annoying about it is its aura of fake activism."

"The sledgehammer emoting should let you know you're in a family drama."

"Whale fans will blubber, but uneven Miracle flounders in its hunt for narrative focus."

"Under its crowd-pleasing exterior lies an undercurrent of bracing cynicism."