RogerEbert.com by Christy Lemire

You’d have to be totally cynical, with a heart of stone and ice water in your veins, not to be even the slightest bit charmed by One Chance.

Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan

Despite the story’s familiarity, its star manages to turn its many tropes into a winning formula.

Los Angeles Times by Annlee Ellingson

Director David Frankel has crafted a sweet, funny, heartfelt film, and while we may know all along how it all turns out, Paul's signature performance still gives us chills.

The Hollywood Reporter by David Rooney

An utterly formulaic but sweet movie that does what a crowd-pleaser is meant to do.

Slant Magazine by R. Kurt Osenlund

David Frankel crams his story with predictable developments, yet he matches his subject in spirit, pushing something into the spotlight that, however unlikely, elicits irresistible glee.

Time Out London by Cath Clarke

The problem with the film is that Potts’s life story has been put through the Hollywood meatgrinder. Awkward details have been changed or erased – they’ve made Potts Welsh (he grew up in Bristol) and eliminated his siblings.

Empire

A fluffy but fun telling of a rags to riches story.

The Guardian by Catherine Shoard

The movie is strongest is when it strips away the facts and focuses on the emotional notes.

Empire by Liz Beardsworth

A fluffy but fun telling of a rags to riches story.

Village Voice by Chris Packham

The film shoehorns Potts's life story into a familiar underdog template, populating the world with near-mythological threshold guardians who exist to assure the hero that he isn't good enough.

The Dissolve by Mike D'Angelo

The film fictionalizes his life story so aggressively that it’s no less (or more) entertaining than the average rom-com.

Total Film by Neil Smith

Potts does the singing himself, but that doesn’t stop Justin Zackham’s (The Big Wedding) contrived script from sounding bum notes throughout.

Variety by Scott Foundas

What keeps One Chance plugging along almost in spite of itself are the warmly engaging performances of Corden and Alexandra Roach.

The Telegraph by Tim Robey

For all the solid efforts of the cast, it’s still one of those biopics with a totally canned story arc and as many head-slapping moments as intentional laughs.