62
Metascore
28 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80VarietyLeonard KladyVarietyLeonard KladyThis exuberant Western is a crowd-pleaser that remains faithful to the genre while having a roaring good time sending up its conventions.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe first lighthearted, laugh-oriented family Western in a long time, and one of the nice things about it is, it doesn't feel the need to justify its existence. It acts like it's the most natural thing in the world to be a Western.
- 75Chicago TribuneGene SiskelChicago TribuneGene SiskelSucceeds, just barely, on the good will of its stars and the sumptuousness of its Western locations.
- 70The New York TimesCaryn JamesThe New York TimesCaryn JamesFast, funny, full of straight-ahead action and tongue-in-cheek jokes, Maverick is Lethal Weapon meets Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. That combination won't win any prizes for originality, but it works like a movie mogul's dream and sets the summer-film season off to an unbeatable start.
- 70TimeRichard SchickelTimeRichard SchickelThe film offers us Mel Gibson as a new Bret Maverick, the Western gambler, as well as the old TV Maverick, James Garner, now playing a wry frontier sheriff. These two guys can make you smile contentedly even when the script is wandering and they're just sort of standing around waiting for its next good part to develop.
- 63Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittLittle about Maverick lingers in the mind once the final image has faded from the screen. But it's cleverly crafted, and you can't help enjoying it even when you know it's manipulating you as brazenly as a poker dealer with tricky fingers and a well-stacked deck.
- 60EmpireKim NewmanEmpireKim NewmanThe plot is one the original writers would have been proud of and with Garner, himself, appearing it gives the film a seal of approval. A rare performance from Foster who is surprisingly funny and Molina giving a good supporting performance, it's an enjoyable family film.
- 60Los Angeles TimesPeter RainerLos Angeles TimesPeter RainerCrammed with such big-name crowd-pleasers as Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner, Maverick reaches for that Feel Good feeling. It settles for Feel OK.
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineCynical and bloated, Maverick is a comic western whose high-powered cast does very little but looks damned fine doing it. Even fans of the vintage TV show may find it trying.
- 50The Seattle TimesThe Seattle TimesBy the time Donner crowds his climactic poker game with a bevy of veteran Western character actors, decades of movie tradition have been reduced to window dressing, and Maverick leaves you hungry for the real thing.