If you want better ending satisfaction
Choose Wildwood. It scores 5.0 vs 1.9 for ending satisfaction, with a 4.5 overall score.
Klara and the Sun Movie Review
Content guidance
Terminal illness, child loss and plans to replace a dying child make the story emotionally demanding. Violence against humanlike robots, an attempted drowning, a fiery self-sacrifice and bong use add concerns for younger children.
Official rating
PG-13
Bottom Line
Choose it for Ortega’s expressive performance and a visually rich, sometimes touching robot fable. Skip it if you want subtle science fiction, well-developed relationships or a consistently earned emotional payoff.
Ortega fans interested in her warm, physically expressive robot performance, and viewers open to discussing faith, grief and imperfect human value. Some admirers also find the lush imagery worth a big-screen viewing.
Readers seeking the novel’s quiet nuance or science-fiction fans wanting a substantial exploration of AI ethics. It is also a weak choice for those expecting an uncomplicated family film.
Verdict
Klara and the Sun has an appealing center in Jenna Ortega’s carefully controlled physical performance, which often gives its artificial companion more warmth than the humans around her. Golden landscapes, retro-futuristic design and occasional moments of devotion also make an impression. The larger film is much harder to recommend. Across many assessments, broad jokes interrupt grief, intriguing ideas about artificial life and genetic enhancement go unexplored, and relationships lack the time needed to make the ending resonate. Some viewers find a genuinely moving, hopeful fable, so tolerance for Waititi’s whimsy matters. For those seeking a thoughtful adaptation or sustained emotional depth, the attractive surfaces and committed lead rarely compensate for the thin, uneven storytelling.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
60 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.05 (8%)
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Positive 3.5-4.49 (15%)
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Neutral 2.5-3.417 (28%)
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Negative 1.5-2.427 (45%)
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Very negative below 1.52 (3%)
Pros highlights
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Ortega’s precise movements, expressive face and earnest warmth are frequent highlights. Some find the same wide-eyed quirks repetitive or too cartoonish to make Klara feel fully alive.
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Retro colors, expansive fields and pixelated robot vision give the film a distinctive look. That heightened style can also feel sugary, cluttered or disconnected from its darker world.
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Golden landscapes and rich color are beautiful to many viewers. Others find the yellow filters, glossy finish and relentless prettiness bland or oppressive.
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Klara’s prayers and solar devotion can be beautiful expressions of faith and sacrifice. Others find the spiritual arc reduced to a joke or an unconvincing act of fanaticism.
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The young leads and Rick often share natural, appealing rapport. Other assessments find the relationships too thinly developed to establish proper chemistry.
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The decorated house, open fields and retro-futuristic details are recurring visual strengths. A few find the dainty design too artificial to establish a believable society.
Cons highlights
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Klara’s devotion can be touching, and several viewers find the film deeply moving. More often, forced sweetness and jokes prevent the grief from feeling earned.
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Waititi’s broad comic instincts repeatedly interrupt material that calls for patience and emotional restraint. A smaller group welcomes his warmth and playful approach.
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Artificial consciousness, genetic enhancement, love and mortality supply rich possibilities. Most criticism centers on how briefly these ideas are explored before the story moves on.
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Tharia, Murphy, House and Lyonne provide welcome warmth or comic relief for many viewers. Adams draws especially divided reactions, ranging from moving restraint to stiff disengagement.
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Gentle character comedy and a few supporting turns land, but many jokes feel forced, repetitive or badly timed around serious moments.
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Whimsical comedy, family grief and darker science fiction repeatedly collide. The abrupt transitions are the film’s most consistent weakness, though a few viewers enjoy the blend.
Use Cases
Best for
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Parenting choices, genetic enhancement, sacrifice and imperfect human value offer substantial discussion topics even when the drama underdelivers.
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Ortega’s fans may appreciate a warm, physically expressive contrast to her darker roles. Her performance is a reason to watch even for viewers disappointed by the film around her.
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One enthusiastic assessment finds a fresh coming-of-age story in Klara’s discovery of the world and human relationships.
Not ideal for
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Science-fiction fan viewingViewers seeking substantial speculative science fiction may find the AI ethics and dystopia too lightly explored. The story offers little guidance on the harder technological questions it raises.
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Adult viewingAdults seeking thoughtful speculative drama may find the film’s approach too juvenile.
Cast & Creators
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KlaraOrtega’s nuanced physical control and sunny sincerity often carry the film. Dissenters find her wide-eyed mannerisms forced, repetitive or too cartoonish.
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JosieTharia is often praised for confidence, warmth and vulnerability as Josie. A smaller group finds her unremarkable or insufficiently convincing.
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MelaniaHouse’s sharp comic presence and flashes of heart provide welcome relief. Her limited appearances leave some wanting more.
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RickMurphy brings relaxed sincerity and natural chemistry to Rick. His scenes with the other young leads are repeatedly welcomed.
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CinematographerBerlucchi’s golden imagery and landscape compositions earn strong praise. Critics of the same approach find it textureless, bland or overly filtered.
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Store ManagerLyonne supplies memorable comic energy in limited scenes for several viewers. One strongly negative assessment finds her performance excessively mugging.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Movies, this product is above average in CGI quality, Portrayal of women, special effects quality, near average in Religious messaging, runtime, below average in rewatch value, directing quality, faithfulness to source material.
Comparison summary
55 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher3 (5%)
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Same as average within 0.3 pts10 (18%)
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Below average 0.4+ pts lower42 (76%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| rewatch value | 1.0 | 3.6 | -2.6 |
| directing quality | 1.9 | 3.9 | -2.1 |
| faithfulness to source material | 1.6 | 3.7 | -2.0 |
| classic cinema references | 2.0 | 4.2 | -2.2 |
| theme depth | 1.9 | 3.6 | -1.7 |
| critic appeal | 1.3 | 3.4 | -2.1 |
| CGI quality | 5.0 | 2.8 | +2.2 |
| audience appeal | 1.8 | 3.8 | -2.1 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better lead performance
Choose Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. It scores 4.9 vs 3.8 for lead performance, with a 3.7 overall score.
If you want better directing quality
Choose Crime 101. It scores 5.0 vs 1.9 for directing quality, with a 4.0 overall score.
If you want better tonal consistency
Choose Girls Like Girls. It scores 5.0 vs 1.7 for tonal consistency, with a 4.0 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
- Better: pacing The Odyssey felt brisk while this film felt much longer.
- Better: villain characterization Wildwood’s villain is judged far better than the mother’s characterization.
A.I.
- Similar: tone and structure The film is compared to an overly twee expansion of A.I.’s final act.
- Similar: robot fairy-tale premise The robot fairy tale is described as indebted to A.I.
FAQ
Is Jenna Ortega good as Klara?
Many consider her expressive face, precise robotic movement and sincere warmth the film’s strongest assets. Others find the performance too deliberately quirky.
Does it capture the novel’s tone?
Most adaptation criticism focuses on lost restraint and ambiguity. A minority sees a respectful translation, but readers are also advised to stay with the book.
Is it thoughtful science fiction?
It raises intriguing questions about artificial companionship and genetic enhancement, but many find the world and ethical implications underexplored.
Is it funny or sad?
It aims for both. Some find its devotion moving, while many say broad jokes repeatedly interrupt the grief.
Is it suitable for children?
Generally better suited to ages 13 and up, given terminal illness, child loss, disturbing treatment of humanlike robots and substance use.
Is it worth seeing in a theater?
The vivid landscapes earn strong praise from some viewers. Others recommend waiting for streaming because the thin story and uneven pacing limit the experience.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
YouTube - Latino Slant
- Review score
- 1.5
YouTube - John Campea
- Review score
- 2.5
Article Reviews
twoohsix.com
Movie Reviews, Events, and Seattle Culture. Welcome to the TwoOhSix!
- Review score
- 4.9
theguardian.com
The director has turned Kazuo Ishiguro’s acclaimed novel about an ailing adolescent and her glitchy robot friend into a thought-provoking...
- Review score
- 2.7
butwhytho.net
Klara and the Sun is certainly flawed, but where it charms, it charms hard, thanks to a standout performance and well shone themes.
- Review score
- 3.3
cgmagonline.com
Klara and the Sun provides a fresh outlook on grief and death; be sure to bring some tissues and an open mind.
- Review score
- 4.6
nypost.com
Taika Waititi’s "Klara and the Sun," starring Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams, is an overworked, annoying sci-fi adaptation that fails to deliver.
- Review score
- 1.4
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