Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tick, Tick... BOOM Has Early Critics Exploding With Praise
"Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda is making his directorial debut with the upcoming "Tick, Tick... BOOM!," which will be released in limited theaters on November 12 and on Netflix on November 19.
The semi-autobiographical musical is written by the late American composer Jonathan Larson, who was best known for writing and composing "Rent," which earned him three Tony Awards. Set in New York City in the 1990s, the film follows aspiring artist Jon as he contemplates whether or not he should keep pursuing a career in the performing arts. Andrew Garfield takes on the leading role of Jonathan and stars alongside the likes of Alexandra Shipp, Vanessa Hudgens, and Bradley Whitford.
With the limited theater release just a day away, the early reactions from critics have begun coming out, giving eager moviegoers and musical fans a peek into what they can expect. So what do critics think so far? In a nutshell, it's almost been nothing but praise.
Nearly all critics are in love with Tick Tick... BOOM
So far, the response to "Tick, Tick ... BOOM!" is overwhelmingly positive, which has become clear by critics posting their early reactions to Twitter. While Miranda has received a good amount of praise for his direction, it's Garfield's performance as Jonathan Larson that is absolutely dominating the conversation.
Collider's Steven Weintraub tweeted, "LOVED [Miranda's "Tick, Tick ... BOOM!"]. Never saw Andrew Garfield on screen tonight. Instead I witnessed Jonathan Larson come back to life for 2 hours." Scott Menzel of We Live Entertainment echoed this sentiment, writing, "[Garfield] transforms into Jonathan Larson without any sort of gimmick whatsoever ... This is a next level performance."
Director Edgar Wright (whose own film, "Last Night in Soho" just premiered last month) joined the conversation about the film, writing, "Go see [Miranda's] Tick Tick... Boom!; a remarkably confident debut from that far too talented EG-T adjacent bastard. Especially loved the All That Jazz style editing, combining separate timelines into an dizzying whole. A perfect part for Andrew Garfield too. You will enjoy!"
There has been at least one negative reaction thus far, with Collider's Jack King declaring that it is "really quite bad, so tonally incoherent as to be pretty inadvertently funny," although he notes that Garfield "gives it absolutely everything." In a more mixed reaction, writer and podcaster Tom O'Brien noted that he thought some of the "material doesn't always connect," but also praised the strengths of "Miranda's visually assured direction & Andrew Garfield's go-for-broke performance."
All in all, it seems "Tick, Tick ... BOOM!" may be worth watching for Garfield's performance alone. The film will be released on Netflix on November 19.