91
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The New York TimesFrank S. NugentThe New York TimesFrank S. NugentNot merely a natural and straightforward biography, but a film which indisputably has the right to be called Americana. Henry Fonda's characterization is one of those once-in-a-blue-moon things: a crossroads meeting of nature, art, and a smart casting director.
- 100TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineA superb motion picture, and one in which Ford's obsession with Americana and the forces and emotions that made this country what it is are plainly in view.
- 100Time OutTime OutComposed of serio-comic scenes from small town life, heavy with a future perfect sense of Myth-in-the-making, it's driven by tensions between insignificance and monumentality that explode in the histrionic splendour and excess of the celebrated final sequence: Abe Lincoln setting out to scale unseen heights against the portentous gloom of a gathering storm.
- 90The A.V. ClubNick SchagerThe A.V. ClubNick SchagerExuding nobility, modesty, and down-home wit, Henry Fonda assumes the iconic top hat as America’s 16th president in Young Mr. Lincoln. Far from a traditional decades-spanning biopic, John Ford’s drama instead provides a snapshot of a moment in Lincoln’s life.
- 90The New YorkerPauline KaelThe New YorkerPauline KaelOne of John Ford's most memorable films, and not at all the tedious bummer that the title might suggest. Henry Fonda, in one of his best early performances, is funny and poignant as the drawling, awkward young hero.
- 80EmpireDavid ParkinsonEmpireDavid ParkinsonA rose-tinted look at American history, certainly, but still a very entertaining one.