Review Roundup: TICK, TICK...BOOM! Premieres at AFI Fest; What Are the Critics Saying?

The new film adaptation of tick, tick...BOOM! had its world premiere at AFI Fest on November 10, and will have a limited release on November 12, before streaming on Netflix on November 19, 2021.

tick, tick...BOOM! is an adaptation of the autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson, who revolutionized theater as the creator of Rent. The film stars Academy Award nominee & Tony Award winner Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Tony Award nominee Robin de Jesús, Tony Award nominee Joshua Henry, MJ Rodriguez, Emmy Award winner Bradley Whitford, The Roots' Tariq Trotter, with Emmy and Tony Award winner Judith Light, and Vanessa Hudgens.

Andrew Garfield plays Jon, a young theater composer who's waiting tables at a New York City diner in 1990 while writing what he hopes will be the next great American musical. Days before he's due to showcase his work in a make-or-break performance, Jon is feeling the pressure from everywhere: from his girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp), who dreams of an artistic life beyond New York City; from his friend Michael (Robin de Jesús), who has moved on from his dream to a life of financial security; amidst an artistic community being ravaged by the AIDS epidemic. With the clock ticking, Jon is at a crossroads and faces the question everyone must reckon with: What are we meant to do with the time we have?

Let's see what the critics are saying...

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Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian: Garfield is good at portraying the needy, borderline-desperate world of the theatrical writer: always charming, always on, always looking for creative inspiration, always on the verge of exhaustion, and now trying to absorb the new possibility of disillusion. It is a rather Sondheimian theme and Larson himself was a devotedly Sondheimian composer. This is not a movie which gives its hero a happy ending: there is no opening night for Larson, just a belief that the unending slog will one day be worth it.

Todd Gilchrist, The Wrap: On a level of sheer cinematic flourish, Miranda's adaptation is a triumph; he really harnesses Larson's songs for the screen and gives them tremendous life, whether or not you'd seen them before on stage. In an early number featuring Jonathan and Michael, as the latter moves into a fancy new apartment, Miranda plays with camera speeds in a way that feels fun and exciting, and for the most part he balances the black-box simplicity of Larson's performance of his own musical as a form of narration, the romanticized squalor of low-rent New York living, and the more calculated theatricality of his main character's digressive fantasies.

Clarisse Loughrey, Independent: Garfield is happy to play along with the Broadway love-in. As Larson, he always looks as if he's just been electric shocked. He's so wide-eyed, open, loving and present in the role, in ways that constantly pull the film back from the brink of self-indulgence. You believe wholeheartedly that he is Larson, and has always been, which is especially impressive considering he has almost no previous singing experience. Miranda, meanwhile, cuts between the narrative and Jonathan's retelling of that narrative on stage, as a nod to the monologue structure of Larson's original show. It's a neat little metaphor in itself, reminding us of how the artistic mind is constantly interpreting personal experience as potential material - a fact which, at one point, becomes crucial to the plot.

Peter Debruge, Variety: What's refreshing about the debuting director's approach is that it feels relatively egoless. His style is playful and energetic, often intercutting between multiple threads within a given song or scene, but it doesn't feel as if Miranda is calling attention to himself so much as trying to open up the show - to give it the wings Jonathan sings about in the final number.

Brian Truitt, USA Today: "BOOM!" is an entertaining, heart-filling work that showcases two musical geniuses, putting a new spotlight on Larson's musical legacy and giving Miranda another endeavor to gift us with his unparalleled artistry.

Patrick Cremona, Radio Times: What can't be denied is that Garfield is absolutely terrific in the lead role, undoubtedly the film's greatest asset. He's as comfortable as an all-singing showman in the stage sections as he is playing Jonathan in the more traditional dramatic scenes, brilliantly infusing the character with a frantic, nervous energy and just the right amount of arrogance, ensuring he remains likeable and sympathetic in spite of his sometimes short-sighted nature. If he's up for awards for his performance here, as has been touted, then it will be very well deserved.

Fionnuala Halligan, Screen Daily: For those who swim in the world of Broadway, like Miranda and his collaborators, or worship at the feet of Sondheim - legions, justifiably - Tick...Tick...Boom will be a natural watch, most likely on the streaming service as opposed to its theatrical awards-qualifying run (Netflix will probably strain for a nomination for Garfield as hard as he stretches himself to portray Larson here). Outside that world, though, it remains a doubtful prospect - last year's Prom from Netflix had spangles and Meryl Streep yet was ignored.

Francesca Steele, iNews: Occasionally I wondered who was actually speaking to the cinema audience, as the plot got lost in structural conceits. Still, Miranda has made something kinetic and intimate with material not easily adapted for the screen. It is a fan's tribute, yes, but quite a clever one.

Alistair Harkness, The Scotsman: The musical-within-a-musical structure does him no favours either. It's already a bit of a cheat's way of showing how real life can be transformed into art, but the way Miranda uses the device to mediate show-stopper tunes through the tearful responses of the audience in a given scene (or via the praise of Stephen Sondheim, played here by Bradley Whitford) feels a little unearned and manipulative at best and repellent at worst. Which is a shame, because elsewhere Miranda does make full use of the cinematic possibilities of the medium.

Empire: Always a likeable actor, Garfield - courageously sporting Larson's ridiculous hair-style that gets a call-out in the script - gets Larson's self-absorption but doesn't really add other colours until the film takes a more serious turn in the final third. It's here where we feel the weight of Jon's relationships - Shipp and de Jesús make for engaging foils; you feel for them - and the film finds moving emotional notes without being mawkish. Perhaps the last act suggests if he moves away from his musical wheelhouse, Miranda might have a strong dramatic filmmaker hidden within.

Tori Brazier, Metro: The film maintains its theatrical roots well, showing Larson narrating his life as part of a stripped-back onstage performance, jumping between that and scenes fully immersed in the 'real' version of his life. This generally translates well on screen, with perhaps the only exception being a slightly jarring interpretative dance section.

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