The Ultimate Gift - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

The movie was given generally negative reviews from movie critics, the consensus being "Though The Ultimate Gift avoids religious speechifying, it's dramatically inert with flat direction." On Rotten Tomatoes, The Ultimate Gift has a 32% overall approval (56 reviews with a 5.1/10 average rating). On Metacritic the film has a rating of 49 out of 100 based on 16 reviews.

Among the harsher reviews The New York Times' reviewer said, "Reeking of self-righteousness and moral reprimand, is a hairball of good-for-you filmmaking......he movie’s messages are methodically hammered home." John Anderson of Newsday, called the movie "cartoonish and broad," and commented on the surprising obsession with material possessions, while The Washington Post noted, "There's nothing wrong with the moral of The Ultimate Gift's story; in fact there's everything right about it. But director Michael O. Sajbel too often succumbs to movie-of-the-week sentimentality and starchy pacing."

Christianity Today felt the film warranted 2.5 out of 4 stars and called it "lovingly crafted ... but never manages to build up much mystery, suspense, tension, or narrative steam.". Joe Leydon of Variety was favorably impressed and noted that "Discussions of faith and God are fleeting, almost subliminal -- without stinting on the celebration of wholesome family values." William Arnold of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer writes "Its sincerity, optimism and air of open-minded tolerance go down well, and it makes a nice change-of-pace."

The Washington Post and The Hollywood Reporter both thought highly of Breslin's performance as the young girl calling her "captivating" and referring to her "charm," respectively. Indeed, it was a common theme for those who both recommended the movie and those who did not to praise Breslin's role.