Los Angeles Times by Gary Goldstein

The Man Who Invented Christmas is a jaunty, amusing patchwork of truths, half-truths and pure fiction that cleverly combine to recount the story of the whirlwind creation of Charles Dickens' famed novella "A Christmas Carol."

Time Out by Joshua Rothkopf

Dan Stevens turns in a vibrant comic performance as Charles Dickens in this drama about writerly inspiration that plays like a smarter Shakespeare in Love.

Austin Chronicle by Danielle White

I tried to imagine what it would be like watching this movie if I were unfamiliar with the source material. The story may be a bit strange, but certainly no less touching. That’s the thing about classics: Each reiteration, if done properly, puts us closer to the story at heart.

The Seattle Times by Moira Macdonald

It’s a pleasant Christmas-season offering; both mild (read: family-friendly) and sweet.

San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle

Rarely has a movie ever captured the importance of a writer’s having unbroken concentration in order to work.

Chicago Sun-Times by Richard Roeper

It’s filled with so many theatrical flourishes and fantastical touches, one can envision this material as a work for the stage, or even an animated film.

Washington Post by Susan Wloszczyna

As the man who would inspire the character of Scrooge — first spied at night in a cemetery attending a threadbare burial for his business partner, while uttering, “Bah, humbug!” — Christopher Plummer is well chosen.

Tampa Bay Times by Steve Persall

The Man Who Invented Christmas is good at its feel-iest, a beloved but stale tale retold with novelty while revealing an interesting rest of the story. Let’s hope it becomes a perennial like so many versions before, with Plummer’s Scrooge as a yearly gift.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Kate Taylor

Director Bharat Nalluri sets a pace as punishing as the title character's – the film is mainly a quick romp – even if he does indulge in some unnecessarily Dickensian melodrama along the way.

Variety by Peter Debruge

In addition to being a rather fine addition to the Christmas-movie canon, the film marks a useful teaching tool — a better option for classroom screenings than any of the previous “Carol” adaptations, once students have finished reading the novella.

The Hollywood Reporter by Frank Scheck

There are many pleasures along the way, including the effective evocation of Victorian-era London.

Village Voice by Alan Scherstuhl

The movie — based on Les Standiford’s novel — is pleasantly simpleminded, often assembled from parts of other movies.

IndieWire by David Ehrlich

A well-intentioned but wearisome jolt of prefab holiday cheer.

TheWrap by Alonso Duralde

As a portrait of an author on the verge of a breakthrough, this is a run-of-the-mill, occasionally clumsy biopic; as for contextualizing Christmas, it never explains how it functioned before Dickens and only briefly mentions how it changed after him.

Screen Daily by Tim Grierson

The more that Nalluri tries to connect Dickens’ personal breakthroughs to those of his fictional character, the less authentic it feels. Inadvertently, this forgettable bauble ends up illustrating just how rare and precious true inspiration is.

The New York Times by Ben Kenigsberg

Brightly lit and anchored by Mr. Stevens’s infectious, live-wire performance, the film, directed by Bharat Nalluri (“Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day”), nevertheless proceeds like a television holiday special, designed to distract children while winking at their parents.

Screen International by Tim Grierson

The more that Nalluri tries to connect Dickens’ personal breakthroughs to those of his fictional character, the less authentic it feels. Inadvertently, this forgettable bauble ends up illustrating just how rare and precious true inspiration is.

Slant Magazine by Eric Henderson

Since “humbug” is already spoken for by Ebenezer Scrooge, “opportunistic” would be the most apt word for The Man Who Invented Christmas.