38
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 60The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckMidnight Sun does an effective job of tugging at vulnerable teenage hearts, while managing to provide a few laughs along the way. None of the film rings remotely true, especially the cornball conclusion, but the two young leads are so darn attractive and appealing that one can't help being caught up in their characters' poignant romance.
- 50Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreIf you’re still a dewy-eyed teen fresh out of going “Awwwww” at the out-of-date coming-out romance “Love, Simon,” there’s nothing wrong with stuffing a few tissues in your pocket and bracing for, if not a good cry, at least the sniffle or two Midnight Sun promises.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperChicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMidnight Sun is cheesy and implausible and manipulative, but it did chip away at my cynicism through the sheer force of its corny and sincere heart.
- 42The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe authentic Sparks movies at least tend to be howlers, with shamelessly overcomplicated narratives and risible twists. Midnight Sun, on the other hand, is straightforward and trite.
- 40TheWrapAlonso DuraldeTheWrapAlonso DuraldeMawkish, bland and banal, this dreary love story — and it’s no “Love Story” — seems to think it can throw together dying girl and handsome prince, and that’s all there is to it.
- 40Time OutTime OutLeads Thorne and Schwarzenegger are mildly charming in a TV-soap way, but it’s all so desperately clean and savoury (even her XP is photogenic – unlike in reality).
- 38Chicago TribuneKatie WalshChicago TribuneKatie WalshDespite the ever-present layer of cheesiness, every now and again, some of those emotions are just big enough to land a somewhat effective blow right to the heart.
- 30VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeThe trouble isn’t just that Midnight Sun cherry-picks the most poetic elements of a real-world disease to serve its transparently manipulative ends, but that it offers audiences such an unrealistic portrait of romance in the process.
- 30The New York TimesTeo BugbeeThe New York TimesTeo BugbeeUnder the limp direction of Scott Speer, Midnight Sun suffocates its sentimental script, portraying passion without wonder, sacrifice without ecstasy.
- 25Slant MagazineDerek SmithSlant MagazineDerek SmithThroughout, the film's tone vacillates jarringly between corny, broad humor and unrestrained treacle.