Blinded by the Light

"A glorious and almost terminally pure coming-of-age story."

"Blinded By The Light is such a joyful ride that it's hard to quibble with its flaws."

"(An) exuberant gift of a movie..."

"The film bottles a palpable emotion of unabashed joy, even when the rest of it seems to barely hold together."

"Blinded by the Light isn’t a new tune, but it’s sung with an infectious passion..."

"Joyous and funny even as it strikes the occasional melancholy chord..."

"Blinded by the Light is simultaneously overdetermined and unfocused..."

"While nothing that happens is surprising, nearly all of it is performed with soulfulness and conviction and charm."

"This little movie is a big winner."

"It's a dream of inclusion that feels narrow, a vision of liberation that feels constrained..."

"Blinded by the Light, at its very best, captures the experience of being a fan, the pure exhilaration of it..."

"Blinded by the Light often feels groan-inducingly contrived rather than emotionally resonant..."

"While Blinded by the Light did not bring me joy, there's a good chance it may for others less jaded."

"While it's far from perfect... it's an inoffensive, feel-good and inspirational British dramedy..."

"The deliberately amateurish style of the musical numbers is supposed to engender spontaneity but too often looks merely cack-handed."

"An invigorating Bruce Springsteen soundtrack... keeps this otherwise meandering coming-of-age flick on track."

"Chadha senselessly pivots from a corny but harmless comedy musical to a tense family drama and without doing either successfully."

"This is the movie that the Beatles-based Yesterday should have been. A knockabout, musically literate yarn with its heart on its sleeve."

"...part-musical, part-biopic, part-rom-com and all sheer bloody brilliance."

"Combining both the universality and specificity of Springsteen's music, Blinded By The Light is an exuberant anthem to the importance of music, the need to be seen and the hope of new possibilities."

"Boundless enthusiasm can't disguise a paperthin plot and some knuckle-biting musical sequences."

"Gurinder Chadha's effervescent film is a bit cheesy and extremely hard to resist."

"There's something so constructed and suffocating about watching a tried and tested formula not working, the over-sentimental string-pulling on show for all to see."

"While this flimsy coming-of-age drama over-relies on the Boss's greatest hits for its emotional high points, "Blinded by the Light" remains a likeable and touching story about finding your own voice."

"Newcomer Viveik Kalra radiates enough guileless enthusiasm to carry viewers past the film's rough patches."

"I have no doubt that by the time 2019 is done, Blinded by the Light will stand as one of the year's best films."