73
Metascore
29 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88The Associated PressMark KennedyThe Associated PressMark KennedyThanks to Kilmer’s relentless drive to document things, Val is a remarkably intimate film and a moving one, too. For a performer who has come off as chilly and difficult, this doc doesn’t counter those perceptions as much as explain them.
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperChicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperDespite his health problems and a career that carried as many setbacks as triumphs, Kilmer comes across as a self-deprecating, thoughtful, likable and almost jovial figure with a wicked sense of humor and a deep appreciation of artists, writers, poets, actors, thinkers.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe helmers don’t aim to be comprehensive. They achieve something better: a film that’s agile and alive — fitting for a portrait of a man who is driven to make art, however he can.
- 78TheWrapSteve PondTheWrapSteve PondAwkward at times and affecting at others, Val doesn’t come across as a story about acting – instead, it’s a pretty straightforward tour through Kilmer’s career with lots of mostly mild anecdotes along the way.
- 75The A.V. ClubVikram MurthiThe A.V. ClubVikram MurthiIf you’re already a fan of Kilmer’s work, there’s clear value in watching him pal around as a young man on the brink of stardom or rehearse as Jim Morrison for The Doors. But for everyone else, Val can sometimes feel like an uncomplicated victory lap.
- 70Screen DailyTim GriersonScreen DailyTim GriersonDirectors Leo Scott and Ting Poo let their subject tell his own story, resulting in a film that’s partly illuminating, sometimes self-indulgent and often quite touching.
- 70VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanWhat makes Val a good and heartfelt movie, rather than just some glorified movie-star-as-trashed-parody-of-himself piece of reality-show exploitation, is that Kilmer brings the film an incredible sense of self-awareness.
- 58The PlaylistCharles BramescoThe PlaylistCharles BramescoScott and Poo have seized on one substantive idea in their portraiture of a singular personality reduced to a caricature of himself by posterity and duly reveal the sensitive artiste who always aspired to more than “Top Gun.” If only they did so with less straightforwardness and more authorial license.