The Metacritic rating for The Whale is 60 out of 100, a score that falls squarely in the “mixed or average” category. This 2022 film, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Brendan Fraser, aggregates reviews from 57 critics on Metacritic, and the resulting score reflects a divided critical landscape.
While some reviewers celebrated specific aspects of the film—particularly Fraser’s performance—others found fault with the overall execution or thematic approach, creating the kind of consensus that suggests The Whale is worth watching, but with tempered expectations rather than guaranteed satisfaction.
- Metacritic Rating Whale: Table of Contents
- How Does The Whale's Metacritic Score Reflect Its Critical Reception?
- Understanding the Mixed Critical Reception of The Whale
- What Different Critics Found in The Whale
- Interpreting The Whale's Score When Deciding Whether to Watch
- The Challenge of Aggregating Reviews Into a Single Number
- The Whale's Awards Recognition and Broader Impact
- What The Whale's Critical Reception Reveals About Film Criticism Today
- Conclusion
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Understanding what a 60 means on Metacritic requires context. On the platform’s 0-100 scale, scores in the 50-60 range indicate that critics found enough merit to acknowledge, but not enough cohesion or achievement to recommend without reservation.
For comparison, a film like Parasite scored in the 90s with nearly universal acclaim, while a typical blockbuster might land in the 70-80 range, and critically panned films drop below 50. The Whale’s 60 places it in a position where you’ll likely find both defenders and detractors among people whose opinions you trust.
Table of Contents
- How Does The Whale’s Metacritic Score Reflect Its Critical Reception?
- Understanding the Mixed Critical Reception of The Whale
- What Different Critics Found in The Whale
- Interpreting The Whale’s Score When Deciding Whether to Watch
- The Challenge of Aggregating Reviews Into a Single Number
- The Whale’s Awards Recognition and Broader Impact
- What The Whale’s Critical Reception Reveals About Film Criticism Today
- Conclusion
How Does The Whale’s Metacritic Score Reflect Its Critical Reception?
A Metascore of 60 indicates that the critical consensus leans slightly toward the positive, but only marginally. The mathematics behind this score—calculated from 57 individual reviews weighted by the critics’ outlets and perceived influence—means that roughly half the critical establishment found the film accomplished its aims while the other half remained unconvinced or disappointed.
This is different from a 6.0 on IMDb (a user-generated score) or a 60% on rotten tomatoes (which counts only positive vs.
negative verdicts); Metacritic’s approach allows for more granular assessment, capturing the nuance that a critic might find a film flawed but worthwhile. What makes The Whale’s 60 particularly telling is that it doesn’t emerge from polarization—where critics sharply divide into lovers and haters—but from a genuine mixed response.
Some reviewers gave the film the high 70s or 80s, while others scored it in the 40s or 50s, and the bulk of reviews landed somewhere in between.
This distribution pattern suggests that The Whale succeeds for some viewers in some ways while failing for others, which is exactly what you’d expect from a challenging, character-driven film by an auteur like Aronofsky rather than a film with a clear flaw everyone agrees on.
Understanding the Mixed Critical Reception of The Whale
The mixed reception becomes clearer when you examine what critics consistently praised and criticized. Nearly every review acknowledged Brendan Fraser’s performance as a major strength—his portrayal of Charlie, a reclusive man struggling with severe obesity and emotional isolation, drew near-universal recognition as vulnerable and committed.
However, critics disagreed about whether the film’s heavy-handed symbolism, its treatment of its subject matter, and its emotional trajectory justified the commitment Fraser delivered. Some reviewers felt the film earned its tragic weight, while others found it manipulative or overly bleak.
A critical limitation worth noting: Metacritic’s aggregation can mask the reasons behind the score. A 60 tells you the consensus is mixed, but it doesn’t explain that some critics were responding to Aronofsky’s directorial choices while others were reacting to the film’s unflinching portrayal of illness and pain.
If you’re considering watching The Whale, the score alone won’t tell you whether its particular mixture of artistic ambition and difficult subject matter will resonate with you. You might actually benefit from reading a few individual reviews that match your sensibilities rather than relying solely on the aggregate score.
What Different Critics Found in The Whale
Critics who gave The Whale higher scores often emphasized its artistic courage and Fraser’s transformative performance. They saw a film willing to sit with discomfort, to refuse easy redemption, and to treat its protagonist with genuine dignity despite his circumstances.
These reviewers valued the film for doing something different from typical Hollywood narratives about redemption and recovery.
Critics who scored it lower raised concerns about pacing, about whether the bleakness served a purpose or simply wallowed, and about the film’s reliance on Fraser’s performance to carry the entire emotional weight.
Some felt that the supporting characters—including his estranged daughter, played by Sadie Sink—existed primarily to advance Charlie’s arc rather than having their own narrative substance. For these reviewers, the film leaned too heavily on accumulating suffering without providing sufficient counterweight or insight.
Interpreting The Whale’s Score When Deciding Whether to Watch
The practical question for most people is simple: does a 60 mean you should watch The Whale? The answer depends on what you typically enjoy and what emotional experience you’re seeking.
If you regularly watch challenging, character-driven films and appreciate performances over conventional plot structure, the score should be less discouraging than it might be for someone who primarily watches lighter entertainment. A 60 doesn’t mean the film is bad; it means you’re taking a genuine risk that it won’t land for you.
One useful comparison: films like Manchester by the Sea and Synecdoche, New York both received Metascores in the high 80s despite being deeply depressing and unconventional. The Whale occupies similar territory thematically but landed at a 60, suggesting that critics found it less successful at balancing emotional weight with artistic purpose.
If you’ve seen those films and found them worthwhile, The Whale is probably worth your time. If you found them punishing and self-indulgent, the lower score might accurately predict that The Whale will frustrate you as well.
The Challenge of Aggregating Reviews Into a Single Number
One important limitation of metacritic‘s approach becomes evident with a film like The Whale. By converting dozens of reviews into a single number, the platform necessarily flattens the texture of critical response.
A critic who wrote that The Whale is “a flawed but necessary film that’s worth your emotional investment” might receive the same numerical weight as a critic who wrote “a bleak slog that mistakes suffering for substance.” Both might score it around 65-70, but for completely different reasons.
Additionally, Metacritic’s selections of which critics to include introduces another layer of interpretation. The 57 reviews that made the cut represent the critics and outlets that Metacritic’s algorithm deemed influential and reliable, which means you’re not seeing a raw democratic survey of all opinions, but a weighted one.
This is generally a strength of Metacritic (you’re not flooded with bot reviews or trolls), but it’s worth remembering that The Whale’s 60 reflects a specific subset of professional critical opinion rather than a perfectly objective assessment.
The Whale’s Awards Recognition and Broader Impact
While The Whale scored mixed on Metacritic, it performed differently in awards consideration. Brendan Fraser received multiple major award nominations and won several, including recognition at the Golden Globes and BAFTA. This discrepancy—between the Metacritic score of 60 and the film’s awards success—illustrates that critical consensus doesn’t always align with guild voting or academic recognition.
The Academy (Oscar voters) and industry guilds sometimes reward films that daily critics find merely competent, particularly when a single performance stands out as exceptional. The Whale grossed approximately $10 million domestically, a modest box office that reflects the film’s niche appeal as a character study rather than broad commercial cinema.
This box office performance suggests that the mixed critical reception likely tracked audience reception as well—some people sought it out because they trusted Aronofsky or wanted to see Fraser’s acclaimed performance, while many others skipped it based on reviews or word-of-mouth suggesting it was a difficult watch.
What The Whale’s Critical Reception Reveals About Film Criticism Today
The Whale’s 60 Metascore reveals a useful truth about contemporary film criticism: critics increasingly diverge on films that are technically accomplished but emotionally challenging.
Where critics once unified around whether a film was “good” or “bad,” they now frequently divide on whether a film’s ambition justifies its execution and whether artistic merit outweighs emotional exhaustion.
The Whale sits in this exact space—everyone agrees it’s made with skill and seriousness, but only some believe it’s made with purpose.
Looking forward, The Whale likely serves as a case study in how auteur-driven, actor-centric dramas will score in the Metacritic era. As streaming platforms increasingly fund small, character-driven films marketed toward prestige rather than broad appeal, you’ll see more 55-65 range scores, especially for films that challenge conventional narrative structures.
A 60 no longer signals “skip this,” but rather “investigate further based on your specific tastes.”.
Conclusion
The Metacritic rating of 60 out of 100 for The Whale accurately captures a critical consensus that the film is ambitious, well-acted, and genuinely difficult—but not universally successful at what it attempts.
Based on 57 professional critics, this score places the film in the middle of the critical spectrum, neither dismissed nor celebrated, but acknowledged as worthy of consideration despite its flaws.
If you’re considering watching The Whale, the Metascore should be one input among several. Read a few individual reviews that resonate with your sensibilities, consider whether challenging emotional narratives appeal to you, and remember that Brendan Fraser’s performance is consistently cited as the film’s anchor point.
The Whale is worth watching if you value artistic ambition and powerful performances over conventional satisfaction, even when that ambition doesn’t always fully land.
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