49
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75RogerEbert.comNell MinowRogerEbert.comNell MinowThis film is a bittersweet love story about characters burdened by oppression, but the theme of liberation is as palpable as the sense of loss.
- 70Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinDirector Peeter Rebane and his co-writer (and star), Tom Prior (they also produced), have created a compelling, tender, tragic, occasionally melodramatic look at forbidden love and desire.
- 65Film ThreatFilm ThreatThis is all competently executed, as Prior and Zagorodnii have impressive chemistry, and Rebane allows their performances to take center stage. Unfortunately, even though the two leads are a joy to watch, we can’t help but feel that we’ve seen what Firebird is offering before.
- 50The A.V. ClubMark KeizerThe A.V. ClubMark KeizerPrior and Zagorodnii have a fair amount of chemistry, although both are so Fashion Week gorgeous that it edges Firebird near soft-core territory.
- 50TheWrapDan CallahanTheWrapDan CallahanUnfortunately, the second half of Firebird is far less involving than the first.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThere’s so much potential heart and heartbreak in Firebird’s tale of forbidden passion that the screenplay and the cautious pacing become frustrating; with every ache measured and spelled out, the film’s dogged striving for poetry too often leaves it feeling disappointingly prosaic.
- 40The New York TimesTeo BugbeeThe New York TimesTeo BugbeeEach line and image feels predetermined, as if Rebane and his characters had already decided this love story was a losing battle. There is loss, but little sense of risk.
- 38Slant MagazineEd GonzalezSlant MagazineEd GonzalezThere are clichés and then there are only clichés, and Firebird is suffocated by them.
- Prior and Zagorodnii are at their best in casual conversation, either exchanging sheepish glances or knowing pleasantries under the base’s Big Brother-ish nose. But as soon as things get serious or even faintly sentimental, they talk like the guys in the movies.