Confusing new framework only gets in the way of the story...

| Dec 8, 2022

Bahrani's heavy-handedness robs Fahrenheit 451 of its potency, which is unfortunate, as Bradbury's story proves achingly imperative today by reflecting how governments instill control.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 14, 2022

It just didn't make a version that merits attention as viewers navigate a signal-and-noise reality Bradbury himself would have likely deemed fiction...

| Jul 28, 2021

I've got an idea: go watch Bahrani's earlier work, go read Bradbury's novel, and burn this movie.

| Jul 16, 2021

If the Bahrani-Naderi version of Fahrenheit 451 had focused more soberly and objectively on what "book-burning" and "memory loss" mean today in our concrete social circumstances, it might have been a meaningful contribution.

| Feb 11, 2021

In the age of disinformation, one would think a visit to Bradbury's classic would be timely, but this version doesn't offer enough of a fresh take to address anything pertinent.

| Feb 13, 2020

When fake news can affect real elections, there is no better time to consider the lessons of this modernized "Fahrenheit 451."

| Nov 25, 2019

The result is a very weak update, that also masks several of the strengths found in Bradbury's novel. Very forgettable. [Full Review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 19, 2019

Though heavy-handed, HBO's version carries on in that spirit, underlining that it's usually worthwhile to question what's become normal.

| May 29, 2019

Bahrani crafts a distinctive and tense narrative, but none of his editorial choices match the depth or power of the original book.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 13, 2019

Books aren't just the stories within, but also the memories and associations they create, paths to other places. That doesn't really come across in this adaptation; rather it sets up several pathways that remain unexplored.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jan 9, 2019

While the film attempts to put its own spin on the story for the digital age, Bahrani's film does not measure up to the source material.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 10, 2018

[This] adaptation of Ray Bradburry's classic novel doesn't really shock the core like it should, mostly because it's a movie that wants the essence of a narrative without really digging into the themes.

| Aug 27, 2018

HBO's Fahrenheit 451 is horrifically beautiful. It feels both divorced from and intrinsically tied to its source material, the 1953 dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury.

| Jun 28, 2018

There are things that work with the adaptation that could have been even more successful given time to play out over the course of a season.

| Jun 14, 2018

This lavish HBO-produced adaptation certainly looks the part, but does feel a touch light on for impact considering the weight of the themes it is carrying.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 1, 2018

Bahrani's fondness for drama with a social justice angle is revealed in the backstory...and does not go much farther than general finger-wagging at screen-addiction and the herd mentality found on network echo chambers.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 31, 2018

HBO's adaptation of Ray Bradbury's classic "Fahrenheit 451" ultimately loses the plot.

| May 30, 2018

Soggy, violent adaptation of book-burning sci-fi classic.

| Original Score: 2/5 | May 29, 2018

Fahrenheit 451, though initially compelling, ultimately does little to expand the prominent ideas of Ray Bradbury's work.

| May 29, 2018