Name : Jesse Hassenger / Alias : AV Club
Rare is the broad mainstream comedy that can goof on its bigger-budget Hollywood siblings while providing a few moments of sincere uplift.

Name : Amy Nicholson / Alias : L.A. Weekly
Spy is a call to arms for the cowed, and a riotous skewering of the workplace kings

Name : Andrew Lapin / Alias : NPR
Spy is actually quite funny. It even proves itself to be in the same league with the first two films in Feig's loose comic trilogy, Bridesmaids and The Heat .

Name : John DeFore / Alias : Hollywood Reporter
Melissa McCarthy comes into her own as a comic star in Spy, stepping out from recent supporting- and co-headlining roles to become the big screen A-lister she promised to be in 2011's Bridesmaids.

Name : Alonso Duralde / Alias : TheWrap
McCarthy and Byrne's scenes together are cruelly hilarious, with the kind of no-holds-barred insult humor that makes you instinctively drop your jaw and cover your mouth.

Name : Mick LaSalle / Alias : San Francisco Chronicle
Everyone involved seems to have had a good time with "Spy," and so will the audience.

Name : Wesley Morris / Alias : Grantland
In Spy, she's playing a caricature that is almost a complete character. The movie isn't out to humiliate her. It wants to prop up a version of heroism that makes sense for McCarthy.

Name : Justin Chang / Alias : Variety
Melissa McCarthy gets the funniest, most versatile and sustained comic showcase of her movie career in this deliriously entertaining action-comedy.

Name : Liam Lacey / Alias : Globe and Mail
Although this fish-out-of-water scenario might sound over-familiar, both the humour and action here are startling and visceral .

Name : Ann Hornaday / Alias : Washington Post
Feig's movies aren't particularly stylish - the visuals in "Spy" are serviceable at best, and the makeup is particularly un-subtle - but they possess a silly, sweet streak that makes them irresistibly infectious.

Name : Peter Howell / Alias : Toronto Star
One part parody, one part thriller, one part lethal satire of movie sexism.

Name : Peter Travers / Alias : Rolling Stone
McCarthy and director Paul Feig, are a dynamite team, with Feig's script a bonanza of zingers and femcentric subtext.

Name : Randy Myers / Alias : San Jose Mercury News
Feig draws out McCarthy's best, and she's up to the challenge, whether it's expressing tenderness and anger or slapsticking her way through the physical humor.

Name : David Ehrlich / Alias : Time Out
The tricksy plot allows McCarthy to explore the full range of her comic persona, and Feig is smart enough to get out of her way as the mild-mannered Susan starts wielding f-bombs as comfortably as Bond whips around a Walther PPK.

Name : Kyle Smith / Alias : New York Post
If they do a sequel (teased in the final seconds), they should cut down on the endless, tedious chases and shootouts.

Name : Rafer Guzman / Alias : Newsday
A breezy, enjoyable comedy, and an ideal vehicle for the endearing McCarthy.

Name : Dana Stevens / Alias : Slate
Spy lampoons sexism without abandoning sex-a tough tone for a comedy to strike but one that Feig and McCarthy manage to accomplish with both a sense of justice and a sense of humor.

Name : Richard Brody / Alias : New Yorker
Melissa McCarthy shines in this clever action-comedy showcase provided by the writer and director Paul Feig, but the movie's tightly contrived plot and uniformly positive emotions constrain her comic genius.

Name : Jake Coyle / Alias : Associated Press
It's a globe-trotting tour of McCarthy's talent, throughout which she's practically always kicking butt. Who was that double-O-what's-his-face, anyway?

Name : Mark Olsen / Alias : Los Angeles Times
"Spy" may not be a great movie, but it is great fun. And at times it will have you wondering if there's that much of a difference.

Name : Richard Roeper / Alias : Chicago Sun-Times
What does work, in every scene, is Melissa McCarthy's performance. She's as funny and as winning as anyone in the movies these days.

Name : Joe Neumaier / Alias : New York Daily News
The intel is in: Melissa McCarthy can carry a comedy. Specifically, "Spy."

Name : Andrew O'Hehir / Alias : Salon.com
McCarthy has much more to discover about herself as an actor and an avatar and a cultural signifier, and I hope she doesn't get trapped by one role, one genre or one franchise. But her campaign of conquest is going well.

Name : Chris Nashawaty / Alias : Entertainment Weekly
Put the woman in any damn thing she pleases. She's that good.

Name : Stephen Whitty / Alias : Newark Star-Ledger
[It] does have its moments, and it does have McCarthy. And while it's not worth much more than a rent, it does make us look forward to what she's going to do with "Ghostbusters."

Name : Colin Covert / Alias : Minneapolis Star Tribune
It's as if writer/director Paul Feig studied an Ian Fleming list of everything you're not supposed to do in a spy yarn, then did it all - thereby producing an excellent adventure movie so funny you can barely catch your breath between scenes.

Name : Moira MacDonald / Alias : Seattle Times
"Spy," plus popcorn, feels just right.

Name : Steven Rea / Alias : Philadelphia Inquirer
If a Spy sequel isn't already in the works, they better get cracking. Nefarious terrorists and numskull guys await.

Name : Bob Mondello / Alias : NPR
Feig's cheerfully feminist script makes only as much sense as it absolutely must, while providing McCarthy with chances to crack wise, show vulnerability and class, and do some of the more elegant pratfalls you'll have seen in a while.

Name : J. R. Jones / Alias : Chicago Reader
Hollywood is gradually figuring out what to do with Melissa McCarthy.

Name : James Berardinelli / Alias : ReelViews
The characters are one-dimensional. The narrative is flat and obvious.

Name : A.O. Scott / Alias : New York Times
The busy, silly script allows Ms. McCarthy to be her own best sidekick, in effect an entire sketch-comedy troupe unto herself.

Name : Bill Goodykoontz / Alias : Arizona Republic
Finally, after the promise shown in "Bridesmaids" but sold short since by weak scripts in films like "Tammy" and "Identity Thief," Melissa McCarthy gets a movie vehicle worthy of her talents.

Name : Tom Long / Alias : Detroit News
McCarthy is not a one-size-fits-all talent; she needs the right vehicle. Here, Feig has given her precisely the right vehicle, and she shines.

Name : David Edelstein / Alias : New York Magazine/Vulture
Feig keeps throwing so much stuff at you - gross-out gags, chases, brutal violence, not to mention actors working their heads off - that he finally wears down your resistance.

Name : Tom Russo / Alias : Boston Globe
Melissa McCarthy doesn't just adopt guises to fool the bad guys in "Spy." Part of what makes the action comedy such a loopy blast is the identity shifts she pulls on the audience.

Name : Michael Phillips / Alias : Chicago Tribune
The fun of "Spy" comes in watching the right actors mess with their own images, blithely.

Name : Joe Williams / Alias : St. Louis Post-Dispatch
With the overlong, limp and lazy "Spy," Feig has lost his mojo.

Name : Peter Travers / Alias : Rolling Stone
Directed by the great Mira Nair, the film hits you like a shot in the heart. Nyong'o and Oyelowo are both extraordinary, giving newcomer Nalwanga a chance to shine as Phiona grows into her own woman.

Name : A.O. Scott / Alias : New York Times
If there is anyone out there capable of remaining unmoved by this true-life triumph-of-the-underdog sports story, I don't think I want to meet that person.

Name : Katie Walsh / Alias : Tribune News Service
An uplifting and emotional story rendered with a lively vibrancy by Nair and her stars

Name : Ty Burr / Alias : Boston Globe
While it hits predictable beats of uplift, the triumphs are often measured out painfully, and the heroine faces barriers of class, gender, and crippling self-doubt.

Name : Peter Rainer / Alias : Christian Science Monitor
[Nair] manages to do justice to these people's lives, and when, at the end, the real-life characters show up on-screen and stand smiling beside their actor counterparts, the screen lights up along with the audience.

Name : Stephen Whitty / Alias : New York Daily News
Although the script is a little flat - just because the story is true doesn't mean it should feel so predictable - Nair gives the film tons of energy and joy.

Name : Joe Morgenstern / Alias : Wall Street Journal
The film as a whole conveys a strong sense of discovery, and humanity.

Name : Stephanie Merry / Alias : Washington Post
Subtlety isn't the strong suit of "Queen of Katwe." But beneath the hackneyed aphorisms, there's a thrilling story worthy of our attention.

Name : Rafer Guzman / Alias : Newsday
Predictable and very Disneyfied, but Mutesi's remarkable story carries the day.

Name : Brian Tallerico / Alias : RogerEbert.com
The story of Phiona Mutesi is a fascinating one on its own, but what could have just been an extended "30 For 30" feels lived-in, compassionate and truthful.

Name : Dana Stevens / Alias : Slate
Queen of Katwe's originality comes not in its story but in its setting, explored by Nair with her usual skill at establishing a sense of place.

Name : Jim Slotek / Alias : Toronto Sun
There are no real villains, save for a few snobby bureaucrats. Emotional buttons are occasionally pushed a little hard. But true to her reputation, Nair delivers something a little better than one expects of the genre.

Name : David Lewis / Alias : San Francisco Chronicle
Chess is not the most visual of games, but Nair makes these competitions come alive. She also gets the most out of her mostly nonprofessional African cast, not to mention her two stars, Oyelowo and Nyong'o.

Name : Tirdad Derakhshani / Alias : Philadelphia Inquirer
Ultimately, Queen of Katwe fosters a belief in the triumph of merit and talent. And that message is definitely applicable - to Western kids.

Name : Sheri Linden / Alias : Hollywood Reporter
Hits every note of plucky positivity so squarely on the head that it leaves little room for audience involvement.

Name : Leah Pickett / Alias : Chicago Reader
David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong'o are reliably superb in the critical supporting roles of Mutesi's chess coach and young mother, respectively.

Name : Cath Clarke / Alias : Time Out
Prepare to have your heartstrings plucked.

Name : Sara Stewart / Alias : New York Post
Sometimes, it's enough to walk out of a film with your heart warmed - even if your brain's still craving a little something more.

Name : Eric Kohn / Alias : indieWIRE
By treating its outcome like a foregone conclusion, Queen of Katwe underserves the built-in power of its exultant tale.

Name : Brian Truitt / Alias : USA Today
It deals in a world of pawns rather than punches but Queen of Katwe is just as uplifting and feel-good a sports drama as any Rocky movie.

Name : Geoff Berkshire / Alias : Variety
Quietly radical in enough ways to make you cheer despite the cliches.

Name : Katie Rife / Alias : AV Club
Director Mira Nair has a proven ability to find beauty in the most desperate of circumstances, and Queen Of Katwe is no different.

Name : Matthew Lickona / Alias : San Diego Reader
Director Mira Nair knows just how to deploy her excellent cast, giving weight to the drama of both Mom and coach without ever forgetting her sweet young queen.

Name : Claudia Puig / Alias : TheWrap
This humanistic tale, helmed by a masterful filmmaker, offers a potent - and yes, inspirational - story of triumph against huge odds.

Name : Rex Reed / Alias : New York Observer
The story is true, and the message it delivers-with care and help, the disenfranchised can become role models and inspire others-is unabashedly sentimental, but in a good way.

Name : Joe McGovern / Alias : Entertainment Weekly
Nyong'o's gravitas is undercut by a script teeming with wooden platitudes, special lessons learned, and the overbaked dialogue of a Joan Crawford melodrama.

Name : Calvin Wilson / Alias : St. Louis Post-Dispatch
What redeems "Queen of Katwe" is the performance of Oyelowo, who imbues Katende with an exhilarating blend of humor and humanity.

Name : Peter Howell / Alias : Toronto Star
There's much to cheer about a movie with such a diverse cast of talent both familiar and new, set in a land that all too often is depicted on screen as a place of war and hopelessness.

Name : Adam Graham / Alias : Detroit News
In the movie, Phiona can see eight moves ahead, and "Queen of Katwe" often feels the same: You know what's coming, but it doesn't dilute the feeling of victory.

Name : Bilge Ebiri / Alias : Village Voice
Queen of Katwe is a true-life tale transformed into an inspirational fable. That's not novel for the movies, but in this director's hands, the results are mostly enchanting.

Name : Moira MacDonald / Alias : Seattle Times
Just try to resist the charms of Mira Nair's "Queen of Katwe," a triumph-of-the-human-spirit movie that's ultimately, well, triumphant.

Name : Scott Tobias / Alias : NPR
What sets Queen of Katwe apart from other inspirational stories of its kind is that Phiona's dreams are a double-edged sword.

Name : Richard Roeper / Alias : Chicago Sun-Times
It's a team effort, and even though we know this playbook by heart, cheers all around.

Name : Michael Phillips / Alias : Chicago Tribune
Nair's film, her best in a long time, is hardly the first to use a chessboard as a symbol of one life's struggles. It is, however, one of the best.