42
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70Los Angeles TimesRebecca KeeganLos Angeles TimesRebecca KeeganIn revisiting the pop rock quest of a multiracial group of adopted sisters in suburban California, Chu has made a stylish and self-aware musical fantasy for the YouTube generation.
- 68TheWrapAlonso DuraldeTheWrapAlonso DuraldeThis new “Jem” might be pure cubic zirconium, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be part of a fun night out.
- 60The GuardianJordan HoffmanThe GuardianJordan HoffmanThis movie sure means well, and it’s just entertaining enough to (slightly) slip off the shackles of the great cultural conformity factory it ultimately represents.
- 50The PlaylistNick SchagerThe PlaylistNick SchagerJem has less in common with its neon-drenched ‘80s source material than with the real-life Internet-to-red-carpet trajectory of Justin Bieber — a similarly generic teen idol with moves dully modeled on superior artistic predecessors.
- 50Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlVillage VoiceAlan ScherstuhlChu and screenwriter Ryan Landels's take on fame is more fascinating than most of the film's drab, slow drama.
- 50New York PostSara StewartNew York PostSara StewartFans of the cartoon should stick around for Lewis’ after-credits sequence, which introduces a dastardly rival band. It’s the movie’s best scene, setting up a sequel we’ll never see.
- 40VarietyGeoff BerkshireVarietyGeoff BerkshireAgainst all odds, “Nashville” series regular Peeples keeps the film watchable, delivering a capable star turn with enough flashes of soul to belie the script’s artifice and credible pop vocals to boot.
- 40The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerThe New York TimesNeil GenzlingerThere are a few sweet moments early in Jem and the Holograms.... But then the movie’s lumbering, overstuffed, unfocused plot shows up, and whatever high hopes we might have had for this latest exploitation of 1980s nostalgia are slowly ground away.
- 30The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckReduced to a teen girl empowerment vehicle that trots out every show business cliche about sacrificing your values for stardom, the film is a non-starter.
- 25The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyIts one saving grace is that Chu’s direction is so wildly inconsistent that it manages to produce a handful of genuinely gorgeous images alongside all of the cruddy ones.