Kermode & Mayo's Take
4.3/5
Critic Rating
The new home of Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo. They’re back, and it’s bigger, and better and larger-er and more-er. Film reviews, TV reviews, and all your conversation around movie and non-movie related stuff. Plus a whole bunch of recommendations to watch in cinemas, on all streaming services and on physical media. As well as the film and TV reviews, Mark and Simon will be talking about anything and everything. Punctuation, Thunderbirds, obscure German pop music, fax machines, subtitles, MRI scans, magic, school assemblies, Scandinavia, and don’t forget the dad jokes. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/take Try...
Critic Reviews
Score: 5
Matthew Seaton • PodcastReview.org • Oct 11, 2023
"They bicker, interrupt and snipe, often hilariously. This argumentative format is all part of the experience, though. Don’t let the playful cynicism fool you; Kermode speaks eloquently about his love of cinema, and his honesty convinces. …"
Score: 4.5
Nick Hilton • Nick Hilton Blog • Jul 8, 2022
"The show is, on one hand, exactly the same...On the other hand, the show’s free edition is riddled with a quantity of advertising perhaps never seen before in the world of podcasting. It is genuinely unbearable and will likely push me over to the premium edition (so job done, I suppose)...the move out of the BBC has somewhat rekindled my interest in the show."
Score: 4
Patricia Nicol • The Times UK • May 15, 2022
"Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s on-air bromance lives on...the show is a baggy format — and that is without signing up to extras. One immediate critical take is that Mayo/Poole need to ensure that the show remains a balanced two-hander. With Kermode’s fluent film analysis, Mayo too often sounds more like a second-wheel interviewer feeding questions than an equal co-host."
Score: 5
Fiona Sturges • Financial Times • May 15, 2022
"...the pair are required to sing for their supper and read out adverts, which is every bit as awkward — and therefore funny — as you’d imagine. Kermode and Mayo’s dedicated listeners can rest easy knowing that there are mercifully few new bells and whistles in a programme that, along with telling us what to watch, continues to feature interviews with actors and directors. Where Kermode brings the knowledge and passion, Mayo brings a sense of calm and thoughtfulness that helps keep his opposite number’s more verbose moments in check. All of which is to say that Kermode and Mayo’s Take is exactly as you’d wish it to be: new, but reassuringly the same."
Score: 3
James Marriot • The Times UK • May 13, 2022
"Kermode and Mayo’s Take, is extremely similar to their BBC 5 Live incarnation...It may be a demographic thing, but I’ve never quite vibed with them. I find Kermode and Mayo . . . fine. Like listening to your dad and his mates chatting at the pub. If you’re a dad, I suppose it’s thrilling. Kermode’s film criticism is the highlight. A breezy masterclass in off-the-cuff broadcasting. Much harder than it looks."
Score: 4.7
Laura Snapes • The Guardian • May 10, 2022
"UK’s premier film grumps return with a sparkling new podcast. While it retains lots of the previous show’s charm, they’re still finding their feet...And they have to read ads, which they obviously hate."
Score: 4
Ed Power • Telegraph UK • May 6, 2022
"The chattering chums soon slip into a familiar groove, passing judgement on the new Dr Strange film one minute, exchanging free-association dad-jokes the next...the pair know what they are and deliver a first rank slab of pipe-and-slippers podcasting for people who have strong views...Kermode and Mayo were never exactly terse but something about the podcasting format makes the near two-hour run time of Kermode & Mayo’s Take feel over-stuffed."
