The Globe and Mail "The actors, a pronounced sense of setting, and Stone's impressive style results in a film that's more memorable than most cynically tossed off young-adult cash grabs." Andrew Parker
RogerEbert.com "Stone's movie is one of the most frustrating kinds to run into while covering a festival comprised of upcoming filmmakers, the calling card project." Nick Allen
Hollywood Reporter "Lacking the flash of big-budget blockbusters or the originality of a uniquely imagined world instead leaves First Light trying to make the best of overly familiar sci-fi themes." Justin Lowe
Los Angeles Times "Pellerin and Scott are such deeply compelling performers that you are likely to forgive the familiarity of the lovers-on-the-run, first-contact narratives." Kevin Crust
Variety ""First Light" doesn't invent anything new, per se, but somehow, in splicing elements from other movies, it fails to achieve the emotional core of its own formula." Peter Debruge
In The Seats "At First Light isn't a lousy sci-fi picture; its worst offence is taking up time better spent watching movies that leave lasting impressions." Victor Stiff
Screen-Space "Whether you know it or not, kids, you've now got your own generation's Close Encounters of The Third Kind." Simon Foster
National Post "The actors are fine, though the drab screenplay does them no favours." Chris Knight
Eye For Film "A beautiful example of small scale filmmaking which, by working well within its limits, manages to achieve much more than one might expect.' Jennie Kermode
Fan The Fire "Stone has crafted an intelligent, low key sci-fi thriller, that explores big subjects despite running out of steam toward the finish." Sam Bathe
SciFiNow "There are superpowers and moments of awe -- but the focus on Sean's character and his acceptance of change keeps everything here admirably down to earth." Anton Bitel
Slashfilm "First Light nimbly condenses similar, more complicated stories for a greater storytelling accomplishment." Matt Donato
FilmThreat "Try as I might, I just wasn't all that invested in the fate of Alex and Sean or their own private close encounter with the third kind. Which is a shame as the filmmaker shows a keen flair for an interesting visual and aural palette." Joshua Speiser
