- 6
This well-meaning if ultimately manipulative morality tale definitely needs some kind of extra entertainment spark.
—Bill Gibron Reel
- 6
...sometimes feels more like a script read-through than like an actual movie, but its warmth is likely to carry you through the stretches of cliché and tedium.
—A. O. Scott New York Times
- 5
...once Talbert gets distracted by keeping the plot clunking along, the comedy eases into relaxed sideline banter.
—Nick Pinkerton Village Voice
- 5
At a recent Chicago screening for his feature film debut, First Sunday director David Talbert told the audience they were about to see the culmination of 15 years of work. Having watched the finished product, it seems reasonable to assume Talbert spent that time making 15 different movies, and then cut them into one disjointed, cartoonish crime caper.
—Jessica Reaves Chicago Tribune
- 5
This well-meaning if ultimately manipulative morality tale definitely needs some kind of extra entertainment spark.
—Bill Gibron filmcritic.com
- 5
...once Talbert gets distracted by keeping the plot clunking along, the comedy eases into relaxed sideline banter.
—Nick Pinkerton LA Weekly
- 5
At a recent Chicago screening for his feature film debut, First Sunday director David Talbert told the audience they were about to see the culmination of 15 years of work. Having watched the finished product, it seems reasonable to assume Talbert spent that time making 15 different movies, and then cut them into one disjointed, cartoonish crime caper.
—Jessica Reaves Los Angeles Times
- 5
If there's a God, First Sunday will be the last of its kind for Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan, who deserve better than this wannabe screwball comedy...
—Dezhda Mountz E!
- 5
...[what] lacks in subtlety and nuance, it makes up for in crowd-pleasing brashness, at least from a commercial perspective.
—Nathan Rabin Onion AV Club
- 4
...will test just how starved for entertainment that audience is, as they are forced to muddle through a near-claustrophobic comedy that manages to be both predictable and preachy.
—Brian Lowry Variety
- 4
...a heist comedy in which the audience gets robbed.
—Kyle Smith New York Post
- 4
...an infelicitous mishmash...
—Maitland McDonagh TV Guide
- 4
...an uneasy mix of earnest uplift, mild yuks, and preaching about community values.
—Leah Rozen People
- 2
...a severely lazy, generally awful replication of Perry's typical blend of heartwarming melodrama and broad, stereotype-mining humor.
—Nick Schager Slant Magazine