this biopic.. grapples for inspiration but comes up empty-handed; 'Tolkien' is as much an origin story for J.R.R. Tolkien's storytelling skills and genius for inventing languages as a biopic, but this literary foreshadowing is an overplayed motif
the more traditional biography feels somewhat pedestrian; Dome Karukoski's entertaining film boasts flair and narrative ambition, but ultimately fails to completely break free of its traditional biopic frame
the film does not memorialise or re-contextualise Tolkien the man in any remotely interesting sense: instead, it just meekly prods him through the "Theory of Everything"-iser and hopes for the best
by Liz Beardsworth [Empire Magazine ]
