Selena Critic Reviews

Selena succeeds, through Lopez's performance, in evoking the magic of a sweet and talented young woman.Read the full review

This is a simple story of hope and triumph, of one girl with the drive to succeed defying the odds and following her dream. It's not an original tale -- movies like this abound -- but Nava's point-of-view is fresh. Read the full review

Selena is in part a completely predictable Latino soap opera that should satisfy those who complain they aren't making movies like they like used to. Read the full review

Although Nava's screenplay hits the subject of every scene right on the head and doesn't ask for much subtlety or subtext, Lopez is wonderful to watch in the dramatic sequences as well as in the numerous musical interludes.Read the full review

The film's many musical scenes can be riveting. But Selena is less concert film than family drama, particularly focusing on Selena's struggles with her father after she falls in love with, and eventually marries, her guitarist Chris Perez (heartthrob Jon Seda).Read the full review

The hagiography of Selena (executive produced by Selena’s father) will please her fans, but doesn’t give much insight into the person behind the star.Read the full review

On its own good-natured terms, Selena' is both pleasant to watch and instructive in familiarizing a movie audience with the Texan-Mexican borderland music known as Tejano.Read the full review

The best thing going for Selena is Selena herself, played with verve, heart, and a great deal of grace by the increasingly busy Jennifer Lopez (Money Train, Jack, Blood & Wine). Read the full review

The new movie of Selena's life ponderously carves each element of the myth in stone, as if this 23-year-old were a bust to be included on Mount Rushmore.Read the full review