Was Deliver Me From Nowhere "quite boring?" Bruce Springsteen fans might not agree with some netizens' unpopular opinions 

When Deliver Me From Nowhere hit theaters, some fans expected the energy of Born in the U.S.A. Instead, they got Nebraska. It was subdued and a bit sad. Director Scott Cooper's latest (based on Warren Zanes' book about the making of Springsteen's darkest record) has split viewers down the middle.

A Reddit discussion has become the battleground for this showdown. The top comment called the movie "quite boring," and lamented that it was "a full two hours of him going on a couple of dates and writing the bones of two albums in repetitive montages." Despite admiring Jeremy Allen White as The Boss, the user rated the movie "a 4/10," saying, "It’s all laid on a little thick."

Others quickly piled on. One agreed that the movie "felt like random bits with no clear through line," while another described it as "drifting from scene to scene with no throughline," disappointed by "a fictional woman [so that] Springsteen can break her heart and grow as a person." For them, Deliver Me From Nowhere missed the mark. But not everyone was singing the blues.

Deliver Me From Nowhere was "boring" for some, "beautiful" for others

Some Springsteen loyalists and film buffs rushed in to defend the film's tone, as they argued that it captured the Nebraska era's stillness. One user who calls themself a "Springsteen fan who particularly loves Nebraska," countered that "the movie did a great job of putting us in his head during that process." They admitted that "[it's] the movie most people want to see," but praised Cooper's commitment to the introspection that defined Bruce's 1982 spiral.

Another user agreed: "This probably won't do great commercially, but it'll stick with me a lot longer than a run-of-the-mill Bohemian Rhapsody version would." Deliver Me From Nowhere was a meditation, and that's what these fans wanted.

Meanwhile, another found the movie's depiction of mental health relatable: "As someone around that age and having suffered from depression all of my adult life, this movie was beautiful and really moved me." They praised the film for focusing on "the chunk that was most important in his journey."

In short, where some saw "nothing," others saw everything.

Deliver Me From Nowhere might not be for everyone

Much like Nebraska, Deliver Me From Nowhere is also about perfectionism and the American ache. There are no stadium lights, no guitar solos, and only one or two performances. In it, Cooper focuses on Springsteen's therapy and the claustrophobia that birthed two of his most influential albums.

Jeremy Allen White captures Springsteen with stunning restraint, while Paul Walter Hauser and Jeremy Strong round out the ensemble. Still, a Redditor joked, "The film doesn't seem to trust its audience (...) I laughed when they started playing I'm on Fire as the girlfriend and kid were waiting for a no-show Bruce."

At 61% on Rotten Tomatoes and 60 on Metacritic (as of the time of writing), critics seem just as torn. For fans who understand that Nebraska was never meant to sell out, Deliver Me From Nowhere's tone feels right. For everyone else, it might feel like being stuck on the New Jersey Turnpike.

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Deliver Me From Nowhere is in theaters and will be on VOD from November 14, 2025.

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