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The reviews are in for Will Ferrell’s new Eurovision film, and the Netflix original is something critics can’t seem to “make their mind up” about.
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga sees Will teaming up with Rachel McAdams to play a pair of Icelandic musicians, whose big dream is to win the competition for their country for the first time.
Being a Will Ferrell comedy set at Eurovision, you should expect plenty of irreverence and silliness, although the reviews can’t seem to agree on whether the film achieves its aim successfully.
Many have suggested The Story Of Fire Saga gets the tone of Eurovision completely right, and heaped praise on supporting cast members like Dan Stevens and Rachel McAdams, as well as the various musical numbers.
However, others – including us – have been more critical, suggesting the jokes fall flat and claiming the EBU’s involvement means it doesn’t go far enough in its parodying of the song contest.
Here’s a selection of what the critics are saying so far, beginning with the most positive...
The Mirror (4/5)
“Packed full of cartoonish slapstick, eccentric performances, and a genuine fascination (read: passion) for Eurovision, the story of Fire Saga is a true escapist treat.
“Ferrell delivers a distinctly expressive and highly physical turn as the resolute Lars, with some fantastic chemistry with McAdams who is the real weapon in the comedy’s arsenal.”
Digital Spy (3/5)
“After a sluggish start, the real star of the movie arrives when Fire Saga start their Eurovision journey and meet the other contestants, including Dan Stevens as the Russian favourite Alexander Lemtov.
“Stevens steals the show as the camp and louche Lemtov, who he plays with a Borat-esque accent. His wonderful performance brings laughs that are lacking elsewhere and his Eurovision performance is something to behold.”
NME (3/5)
“Ferrell even gathers recent contestants including Loreen, Conchita Wurst and Netta for a completely ridiculous mash-up... it’s a bit like Glee on ketamine, and the clear highlight of the film. But before this, we have to endure a plodding backstory peppered with patchy and sometimes misguided stabs at humour.”
The Independent (3/5)
“All the right references are here: the man in a giant hamster wheel, musicians in monster costumes, robotically cheery presenters that never seem to blink, and a cameo from elfin violinist Alexander Rybak.
“The tone feels right, too. Eurovision is a wonderfully chaotic mix of camp futurism, old traditions, high fantasy, lasers, and onstage dry-humping. The film covers all that ground.”
“Once we ourselves are immersed in this intense, extravagant, colorful milieu, we can understand how someone can spend their whole life fantasizing about being a part of it — and how crushing it would be to fail… in that kind of heightened atmosphere, even the weak jokes land.
“I can’t quite believe I’m putting these words in this specific order, but Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga might be the most emotionally engaging movie Will Ferrell has ever made.”
“If ever a comedy cried out for tight 85-minute treatment that keeps the gags pinging fast enough to disguise the thin sketch material at its core, it’s this hit-or-miss two-hour feature… [but] don’t get me wrong. The new film, directed with halting rhythm and too little tonal consistency by David Dobkin, has some very funny moments.”
The Telegraph (1/5)
“Will Ferrell’s latest outing is unfunny, too long and thoroughly pointless… the result is this pulverisingly unfunny and vacuous two-hour gauntlet run of non-tertainment.”
The Guardian (2/5)
“Not so much a comedy, more a strained, movie-length featuremercial for the Eurovision Song Contest brand, hung on a plot borrowed from The Producers, and originally planned to coincide with the now cancelled Eurovision 2020. Will Ferrell is phoning it in as co-writer and co-star, playing opposite Rachel McAdams, who though an estimable performer is not a natural comic.”
“The biggest issue with The Story of Fire Saga is that most of it is just too limp and anodyne to register... the whole film is inescapably ambivalent to its own premise in a way that can’t hope to sustain two full hours — it’s not absurd enough to support these characters, nor sober enough to reflect what the Eurovision Song Contest means to them, or even what they mean to each other.”
Empire (2/5)
“Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga is the cinematic equivalent of Blue’s ignominious efforts [at Eurovision]... this muddled misfire is closer to nil points than the coveted douze... The votes are in, and it’s official: this largely unfunny paean to Eurovision is a waste of some serious talent. At least some of the songs are decent.”
“Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” is like a “Saturday Night Live” sketch — a very thin one, a daffy but leaden final-third-of-the-show one — that’s been stretched out, for no reason at all, to two hours… it’s a badly shot one-joke movie that sits there and goes thud.”
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga debuts on Netflix on Friday 26 June. Read our review here.