34
Metascore
23 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 60The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe War with Grandpa will probably prove riotously funny to small fry while providing some compensations to adults with its supremely overqualified cast.
- 60TheWrapAlonso DuraldeTheWrapAlonso DuraldeThere are some random chuckles along the way . . . . For the most part, though, The War with Grandpa seems like the sort of brightly-lit disposable family comedy that fills the Disney Channel schedule, only with an insanely overqualified cast.
- 50Original-CinLiam LaceyOriginal-CinLiam LaceyIn theory, it should be possible to have a comedy about a competition between an elderly man and a child to injure and humiliate each other, but it would need to be substantially sharper than The War with Grandpa to make the case.
- 50The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloThe A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloThere’s a pleasing kernel of genuine warmth glowing at the heart of this movie, but it’s been heavily insulated—almost buried—by juvenile silliness. One could argue that this merely echoes the family dynamic, but your tolerance for buffoonery will still need to be quite high.
- 50The New York TimesGlenn KennyThe New York TimesGlenn KennyDe Niro is game throughout, and sometimes amusing in that way he can be. But Walken is the funniest performer here.
- 38Slant MagazineDan RubinsSlant MagazineDan RubinsOnly when left to their own devices do the film’s stars enter the less manic, more heartfelt realm of the book.
- 30Los Angeles TimesMichael OrdoñaLos Angeles TimesMichael OrdoñaThe “pranks” just aren’t funny. The whole premise isn’t funny.
- 30VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanThe combat is neither funny nor intense. The War with Grandpa is like “Home Alone” replayed as a tit-for-tat battle of logistical booby traps that never rises above the innocuous slapstick benign.
- 25RogerEbert.comChristy LemireRogerEbert.comChristy LemireNo one needs a paycheck this badly. This goes far beyond the one-for-me, one-for-them theory of role choices.