John Kehe of "The Christian Science Monitor" wrote: "No one can channel Etta – she's a singular talent – but Beyoncé does it her own way and conjurs enough emotion and grit to make it work in the context of the movie." A. O. Scott of "The New York Times" added that Beyoncé's interpretation of "At Last" was "downright revelatory" and described Beyoncé as "a real soul diva of the old school." A writer of "Entertainment Weekly" wrote that "when she belts out 'At Last,' it all makes sense."