Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy review roundup as critics divided

14 February 2025, 10:34

The Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy reviews are in. Picture: Alamy

By Hope Wilson

Here are some reviews of Bridget Jones 4, as film critics line up to dissect Mad About the Boy.

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The highly anticipated Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy is in cinemas now and the reviews for the fourth film are in.

With Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth returning for the newest instalment of the franchise, viewers have also been impressed by newbies Leo Woodall and Chiwetel Ejiofor, as well as the film's impressive soundtrack.

As we pine for a fifth Bridget Jones movie, many are keen to hear what fans have said about Mad About the Boy.

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With many publications giving mixed reviews, here's how Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy has fared with the critics.

Renée Zellweger has returned as Bridget Jones. Picture: Alamy

Empire

Empire have rated Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy a solid four out of five stars, with Laura Venning writing: A few nods to the original film, like turquoise cocktails reminiscent of Bridget’s blue soup dinner party, are charming without being laboured.

"But strip away the cameos and the callbacks and in this possibly final chapter you’ll find a sweet, surprisingly mature story of an imperfect woman letting herself fall in love all over again."

The Telegraph

Critic Robbie Collin has given the film a glowing review, going as far to say this new movie is the best of the franchise.

He stated: "What was hilariously recognisable in 2001 was a tad stale in 2004, and downright obsolete in 2016. But this terrifically funny and well-judged part four – by some distance the best of the bunch – makes a virtue of the cultural shift."

Chiwetel Ejiofor plays new character Mr. Wallaker. Picture: Alamy

Variety

Owen Gleiberman wrote: "Mad About the Boy is wistful, melancholy, and sweetly (rather than screwballishly) romantic, which lends it a pleasing sincerity. It feels very much like it’s the finale of the series, and if that proves to be the case it brings this beloved heroine to a fitting place of closure."

Deadline

Pete Hammond also gave a positive review writing: "This edition relies more heavily on sentimentality than previous films, and the Love Actually touch, though laid on rather thick in the second half will give the fans what they want: laughter and tears, plus a rooting interest in Bridget’s ultimate happiness."

Leo Woodall joins the cast of Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy as Roxter. Picture: Alamy

The Independent

The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey declares Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy is the best sequel yet, stating that Bright is, "More vulnerable here, more honest, and a touch less defined by her frazzled quirks. That’s thanks, in part, to the fact it’s based on Fielding’s third book in the series, which draws from the author’s own experiences of grief in order to explore a Bridget (Renée Zellweger) who exists beyond Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant)."

Clarisse continued: "When it comes to Mad About the Boy, it’s less that Bridget Jones has finally matured, and more that she’s shown us how human she really is."

Hugh Grant returns as Daniel Cleaver in the fourth Bridget Jones film. Picture: Alamy

The Guardian

However not all of the reviews for Bridget Jones Mad About the Boy have been positive, with The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw writing: "The jokes have been dialled down to accommodate a contrived and unconvincingly mature 'weepie' component but the film becomes sad in the wrong way."

They continued: "The actors are mostly going through the motions, there is so little chemistry between each of the two lead pairings they resemble a panda being forced to mate with a flamingo, and Renée Zellweger’s performance is starting to look eccentric."

The Standard

The Standard's Nick Curtis shared a similar opinion, adding: "Bridget Jones’s Diary started out as a mid-90s newspaper-column spoof of Pride and Prejudice and while no one would begrudge Fielding the success of the subsequent books and films, they’ve steadily decreased in sophistication and wit.

"Retirement now surely beckons for Bridget."