 He was impressed by Thompson's portrayal of Hal, "bursting with authenticity", but wrote that the supporting characters "never have the chance to ring true" in a cast "overflowing with unnecessary hokey colorfulness".Online film critic for ReelViews James Berardinelli called the film "moderately uplifting but not especially memorable" and claimed that "the problem with "Rocket Science" is that the character at the center of the drama isn't very energetic or, truth be told, interesting.