The War with Grandpa

"The film as a whole isn’t weird enough to earn the darker places it goes, and so it occupies a bland and mushy middle ground instead."

"The combat is neither funny nor intense. The War with Grandpa is like “Home Alone” replayed as a tit-for-tat battle of logistical booby traps that never rises above the innocuous slapstick benign."

"The War With Grandpa is a sluggish hodgepodge of slapstick humor that barely holds together its illogically motivated plot."

"Only when left to their own devices do the film’s stars enter the less manic, more heartfelt realm of the book."

"It’s a very minor victory to report that rather than being bad, it’s merely bland, an adequate milquetoast time-waster for a very young and very undiscerning audience."

"There’s a pleasing kernel of genuine warmth glowing at the heart of this movie, but it’s been heavily insulated—almost buried—by juvenile silliness. One could argue that this merely echoes the family dynamic, but your tolerance for buffoonery will still need to be quite high."

"The amiably bland family comedy The War With Grandpa genuinely surprises with how un-special it is. It’s the kind of film that seems to vanish from the mind even as you’re watching it."

"“Grandpa” is, at least, not as moronic as much of De Niro’s recent résumé. But that’s a low, low bar."

"The War with Grandpa will probably prove riotously funny to small fry while providing some compensations to adults with its supremely overqualified cast."

"Whenever and wherever kids do see it, they're apt to enjoy it, while the theme reminds the adults in their lives that the differences and that come between families -- from politics to something as frivolous as a kid's bedroom -- finally aren't as significant as the deeper bonds that they share."

"If you like what you see on the poster, or if you were a fan of the book, then you'll probably like what you see on the screen."