80
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The New York TimesBosley CrowtherThe New York TimesBosley CrowtherIf you've got an ounce of taste for crazy humor, you'll have a barrel of fun.
- 91The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsHere was outer space as only the lavish production values of MGM could imagine it, a journey to an alien landscape painted in bold Eastmancolor and stretched across a CinemaScope frame.
- It’s quintessential ’50s male chauvinism, and Nielsen plays it with a man’s-gotta-do-what-a-man’s-gotta-do stiffness.
- 80EmpireAdam SmithEmpireAdam SmithThe film's amazing strengths easily outweigh the odd outbreak of hammery.
- 80Time OutGeoff AndrewTime OutGeoff AndrewAn ingenious script, excellent special effects and photography, and superior acting (with the exception of Francis), make it an endearing winner.
- A superb sci-fi flick, FORBIDDEN PLANET offers an unusually intelligent script, exciting direction by Wilcox and generally good acting from a decent if rather dull cast.
- 75Film ThreatFilm ThreatWhile it may not dig incredibly deep, Forbidden Planet was a cut above the schlocky fare that dominated the theatrical sci-fi circuit of the 1950s, and I dare say it provides more meat to chew on than many of today’s bloated, effects-heavy “event films.”
- 70Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrEven as the SF cliches fall fast and heavy, this is great to look at, thanks to the sumptuous MGM sets and the fine animation and matte work by Walt Disney Studios.
- 60The New YorkerPauline KaelThe New YorkerPauline KaelIt's a pity the film, directed by Fred Wilcox, didn't lift some of Shakespeare's dialogue: it's hard to believe you're in the heavens when the diction of the hero (Leslie Nielsen) and his spaceshipmates flattens you down to Kansas.