72
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The Hollywood ReporterDuane ByrgeThe Hollywood ReporterDuane ByrgeJoshua: Teenager vs. Super Power is actually a rousing documentary on a youth movement against, essentially, educational brainwashing.
- 80Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenLos Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenDirector Piscatella maintains an engaging grip on his unassuming subject’s ascendancy.
- 80VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyPiscatella and editor Matthew Sultan have shaped the kind of exciting you-are-there narrative that captures the feeling of underdog “naive” idealism transforming into a game-changing popular movement.
- 80The New York TimesKen JaworowskiThe New York TimesKen JaworowskiAmid the fight, there’s a sense of hope as we watch one tough kid turning into one tough man. With luck, that will lead to a sequel.
- 80The GuardianGwilym MumfordThe GuardianGwilym MumfordTeenager vs Superpower does a solid job of contextualising this larger ideological battle, with talking heads and archive footage, but it’s always clear that the focus here is Wong.
- 75RogerEbert.comMatt FagerholmRogerEbert.comMatt FagerholmJoshua: Teenager vs. Superpower is not a great film on the order of Nanfu Wang’s “Hooligan Sparrow” or Alison Klayman’s “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry,” both essential profiles of muckraking activists whistleblowing against government corruption in China, but it does have an equally great story to tell.
- 70Screen DailyAllan HunterScreen DailyAllan HunterWong’s indomitable spirit is what lends the film such an appeal.
- 69The VergeTasha RobinsonThe VergeTasha RobinsonFrom a technical and filmmaking standpoint, nothing about Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower stands out.... It’s as dry and straightforward as a reputable news report. But from a content standpoint, the film is riveting.