Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story: Critic Reviews

100%

MovieWeb: 0 reviews

64%

RottenTomatoes: 120 reviews

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Gregory Kirschling Entertainment Weekly (Top Critic)

50

The forced family dynamics just drag the movie down.
Full Review » 7 years ago
A.O. Scott New York Times (Top Critic)

60

Yes, Dreamer follows a formula, but the formula, when applied with skill and intelligence, as it is here, is pretty much foolproof.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Mike Clark USA Today (Top Critic)

63

Fanning and Russell make this watchable family entertainment, if not necessarily at today's prices.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Desson Thomson Washington Post (Top Critic)

For family audiences seeking easy assurance, moral certitude and, of course, moving scenes of a gorgeous, galloping horse.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Ty Burr Boston Globe (Top Critic)

63

Closer to Seabiscuit than to Racing Stripes. For that, you can thank the entire cast of able underplayers, most notably Dakota Fanning.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Ben Kenigsberg Village Voice (Top Critic)

Viewers will be encouraged to sleep, to dream of better movies.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Elizabeth Weitzman New York Daily News (Top Critic)

63

Fanning and Russell are a perfect, sweet-and-sour pair. And, of course, the horse is absolutely beautiful -- which, in the end, is what this all comes down to, anyway.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Bruce Westbrook Houston Chronicle (Top Critic)

63

Gatins is so worshipful of a child's starry-eyed aspirations that he forgets to ground them in narrative honesty.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Nancy Churnin Dallas Morning News (Top Critic)

42

The predictability of Dreamer makes it more likely to please those predisposed to the story line than to win any new fans to the equine romance genre.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Lisa Kennedy Denver Post (Top Critic)

88

It canters. It gallops. It clears fences of familiarity with grace. It stands two hands above most flicks bred for families, stirring pleasure at its fine-muscled gait.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times (Top Critic)

75

Any girl (and a lot of boys) in the target age group are going to make Dreamer one of their favorite films.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Jessica Reaves Chicago Tribune (Top Critic)

75

It's precisely what we expect -- no more, no less -- and in that capacity, it is supremely successful.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Steven Rea Philadelphia Inquirer (Top Critic)

75

It's to Fanning's and Russell's credit, and the filmmakers', that the formula never gets the better of the film.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Tom Long Detroit News (Top Critic)

75

Absolutely solid family entertainment, Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story is corn-fed, wholesome and thoroughly satisfying.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Bill Muller Arizona Republic (Top Critic)

60

Some movies about horses take us for exhilarating rides, but Dreamer circles a well-worn trail again and again and doesn't know when to head for the barn.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Joe Leydon Variety (Top Critic)

Modestly engaging but mostly unexceptional.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Kyle Smith New York Post (Top Critic)

88

It makes a solid case that a wounded horse can heal a wounded family.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Roger Moore Orlando Sentinel (Top Critic)

60

Too obvious, too trite and too sentimental to ever be more than Seabiscuit for tweens.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Peter Howell Toronto Star (Top Critic)

63

Still manages to rouse spirits, in spite of everything.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Jennie Punter Globe and Mail (Top Critic)

50

Treads a well-worn path that will likely feel familiar even to the newest crop of horse-crazy girls.
Full Review » 7 years ago
James Berardinelli ReelViews (Top Critic)

50

I have seen enough movies to know that 'wholesome' does not have to equate to 'unoriginal.' Yet there's not an inventive moment in the entire film.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Kirk Honeycutt Hollywood Reporter (Top Critic)

This DreamWorks release recycles just about every sentimental ploy and cliche from a raft of horse racing movies.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Carina Chocano Los Angeles Times (Top Critic)

60

The low-key charm of its setting underscores the easygoing performances of a relaxed, well-matched cast.
Full Review » 7 years ago
Robert Roten Laramie Movie Scope

67

All the characters are familiar, the story is familiar, but it is well-constructed and the actors do a good job with the material.
Full Review » 5 years ago
Carolyn Arends Christianity Today

63

Dreamer is loaded with enough cliches and formulas to choke a horse. But truly, it works.
Full Review » 6 years ago