67
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91The PlaylistDrew TaylorThe PlaylistDrew TaylorThe specificity of the documentary, staying within the walls of the boot camp for virtually the entire movie, is one of its biggest strengths since it is able to place you right alongside these kids.
- 80Village VoiceKatherine VuVillage VoiceKatherine VuThe slow (albeit unevenly paced) unveiling of the boys' stories is persuasive and chilling.
- 75Slant MagazineSteve MacfarlaneSlant MagazineSteve MacfarlaneWithout a frame of footage nor a single interview presented from outside the camp, the documentary shows a capitalist nightmare that accords its victims zero wiggle room.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterDuane ByrgeThe Hollywood ReporterDuane ByrgeFilmmakers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia probe this phenomenon, jarring viewers with an inside look at one of these “reform” centers, as well as shedding light on the mindset of these Internet “addicts.”
- 70VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyWith filmmakers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia granted extraordinary access to one facility, they make for a bizarre and entertaining documentary.
- 63New York PostFarran Smith NehmeNew York PostFarran Smith NehmeBrief and timely, this documentary directed by Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia is also frustrating.
- 60Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfBarreling toward its rapidly modernizing future, China takes Internet addiction more seriously than most nations: To watch Web Junkie, an often scary yet half-realized documentary, is to see a society trapped in its old solutions.
- 60The DissolveScott TobiasThe DissolveScott TobiasShlam and Medalia haven’t constructed the film particularly artfully—it’s sluggishly paced, and the two boys at its center aren’t vividly drawn—but Web Junkie is a case where the access is so unexpected and revelatory that it’s a wonder just to have the footage.
- 58The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloThe A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloIt’s clear that these kids have a genuine problem, and a more probing film might have questioned the cultural factors that contribute to it, as well as the efficacy of more or less kidnapping errant youths and trying to coerce them back into productivity. Web Junkie doesn’t do much probing, however.