Screen Daily by David D'Arcy

Magnus Carlsen, called the Mozart of chess, became world champion in 2013 at the age of 22. Benjamin Ree’s rousing documentary shows us how this taciturn prodigy got there, and how his family keeps him sane.

Screen International by David D'Arcy

Magnus Carlsen, called the Mozart of chess, became world champion in 2013 at the age of 22. Benjamin Ree’s rousing documentary shows us how this taciturn prodigy got there, and how his family keeps him sane.

Empire by Dan Jolin

An engaging study of a beautiful but mysterious mind, which also reveals the stressful nature of world-class chess tournaments and raises the deep question of where intelligence actually comes from.

Variety by Owen Gleiberman

Magnus, it turns out, is the anti-Bobby: a fascinatingly “normalized” prodigy.

Los Angeles Times by Michael Rechtshaffen

The loneliness of the long-distance chess grandmaster is affectingly conveyed in Magnus.

Village Voice by Daphne Howland

Ree makes things easy for people who don't play chess, deftly pacing Carlsen's triumphs and failures and milking the suspense as "the Mozart of chess" employs his intuition to win, in an age when many players depend on computers to hone their skills.

We Got This Covered by Lauren Humphries-Brooks

To make a movie about such an elusive figure is a challenging undertaking, and it’s a testament to the quality of Magnus that the film succeeds as well as it does.

Movie Nation by Roger Moore

[Ree] virtually never surprises us, making his film more a celebratory hagiography for proud Norwegians than anything the rest of the world, in and out of chess, can embrace.

Total Film by Neil Smith

It’s too brief to convey the intellect and almost mystical ability that underpin Carlsen’s success.

CineVue by Matthew Anderson

Watching the goofy boy develop into a man, we share in his experiences and root for him each step of the way.

The Playlist by Kevin Jagernauth

Magnus is gifted with a tremendous opportunity and mostly squanders it, creating a profile that certainly admires Carlsen, but does little to uncover the methodology or magic behind the dazzling display he demonstrates on the board.

The Guardian by Leslie Felperin

Even though director Benjamin Ree has accessed the family archive of footage showing young Magnus as a socially awkward prodigy through the years and interviewed him directly many times, the film barely dents his inviolate wall of polite reticence.

The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis

[An] insipid and uninformative portrait of singularity and obsession.