The film’s approach lacks bold gambits, but the story is still a rewarding exhibition.

| Nov 22, 2022

Pawn Sacrifice paints a portrait that shows us how, when true genius of this kind is discovered, it must be supported to its fullest potential, leaving everyone else to follow in awe of its rare whirlwind.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 27, 2022

Kicks into gear in its final third as Fischer and Spassky go mano e mano over a chess board as the world watches.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 3, 2021

It feels more like a re-creation than an actual film; simple, straightforward, and ultimately unmemorable.

| Jan 15, 2021

Yawningly dull... Desperately wants competitive chess to be seen as exciting, inspiring, and metaphoric in all sorts of directions, from the political to the personal, and fails miserably.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 15, 2020

...could (and should) be so much better.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Nov 13, 2020

Pawn Sacrifice is a very good biographical thriller. Pretty good. It entertains a lot with the chronicle of the pawn who wanted to be king. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 26, 2020

Perhaps for a chess enthusiast Baby Boomer, this film has more to offer, but that is a narrow core audience for which a movie should be produced.

| Dec 11, 2019

A mesmerizing character study of chess master and genius Bobby Fischer and corresponding socio-political historical commentary of the Cold War as played out across oceans and on a board with kings and queens and knights and pawns.

| Nov 29, 2019

The director Edward Zwick manages to convey Fisher's crazy perceptions quite well, with close-ups that touch the claustrophobic side. [Full Review in Spanish]

| Aug 21, 2019

As a snapshot of a singular moment in American history and a profile of a genius at war with himself, Pawn Sacrifice acquits itself as a worthwhile endeavor. Or to put it in chess terms, it's a "check" but not "mate."

| Original Score: B | Jul 30, 2019

In the end, Pawn Sacrifice asks a lot of questions about Bobby Fischer that it can't bring itself to bother answering. It wants to explore the relationship between genius and mental health, but finds no meaningful tether.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jul 17, 2019

Brisk and blistering, Pawn Sacrifice is a captivating character study about a prodigy, player, champion and pawn.

| Feb 11, 2019

Chess is not an inherently cinematic game. Couple it with a main character who is actively unlikable, and it sounds like the makings of a movie that is at best hard to watch. Yet Pawn Sacrifice turns out to be immersive.

| Original Score: B+ | Dec 14, 2018

It's a masterfully performed, written, and directed; recreating a bygone era of one of the most influential chess players in history.

| Aug 21, 2018

Sacrificing electricity and artistry, the portrait it paints is by-the-numbers rather than an original masterpiece.

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | Nov 5, 2017

As so often happens in films that begin with the phrase "Based on a true story," Pawn Sacrifice is a cunningly crafted entertainment that does a disservice to the people whose stories it co-opts.

| Oct 11, 2017

Tobey Maguire puts up an intense performance as Fischer.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 21, 2017

[Bobby] Fischer is still considered by many as the greatest chess player of all time. [Edward] Zwick's film invites us to ponder if that is enough.

| Sep 12, 2017

Absorbing, handsomely crafted ...

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 10, 2017