Ian McKellen Film 'The Critic' Lands a Fall Release

Ian McKellen is approaching 90 years old and has admitted he will not be acting full-time much longer. That makes the final films of his career all the more valuable, so it can be a little frustrating when something like The Critic, which features an all-star cast, struggles to find a distributor. Based on the novel by Anthony Quinn, Curtain Call, the mystery-thriller was initially made in 2022 and premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2023. However, the film came and went with zero distributors picking it up, only finally getting picked up by Lionsgate nearly a year later.

Between its release at TIFF and Lionsgate's signing, the film was picked up by True Brit, which only agreed to a deal if the film underwent an extensive reworking of the script and reshoots of new scenes written by original screenwriter Patrick Marber specifically for the film. Though the film got mixed reviews at TIFF, the issue for True Brit was the ending, which critics described as feeling "rushed" and depressing at the time.

Exactly how the new ending will play remains to be seen, as well as whether some of the other complaints are addressed as well. But everyone seems to agree that McKellen's performance is the reason for seeing the film, and with a release date now set, viewers can decide for themselves how to feel about it.