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THE TEMPEST (2010)Movie Reviews
Comedy drama based on Shakespeare's play of the same name, about a sorceress who is exiled to an enchanted island where she wreaks havoc on her surroundings and on those around her. Cast:Helen Mirren, Djimon Hounsou, Russell Brand, Alfred Molina, Ben WishawDirector:Julie TaymorRelease Date:December 10, 2010DVD Release:April 19, 2011From:TouchstoneRating:PG-13Length:1 hr. 50 min.
APRIL 19, 2011
The Tempest (2010), Fair Reviews, Mixed Key Cities
The Tempest (2010) played in key cities to fair reviews. Reviews were mixed. • MaryAnn Johanson wrote for Flick Filosopher, "...messy but thrilling... a lovely, mysterious film, and a gorgeously cinematic mounting of the Bard the likes of which you'd never, ever see onstage." • And Alynda Wheat wrote in People, "Rarely is such talent assembled for so richly embarrassing a project.... cringe-inducing..." More Reviews Below...
The Tempest (2010) Positive Reviews (37 Reviews, reviews below)
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "A pedigreed cast, led by the formidable Helen Mirren and including David Strathairn, Chris Cooper, Djimon Hounsou and Alfred Molina, cannot save the misguided mess..."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 578 words, 12/09/10
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: WEAK(cg) "I found myself wishing that Taymor would turn off the sound and fury and let 'The Tempest' speak for itself. My wish wasn't granted."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 198 words, 12/10/10
Claudia Puig, USA Today: MODERATE(cg) "Mirren keeps the film on track. But incomprehensible shouting and pointless shenanigans obscure subtle moments.... 'The Tempest' is drizzly and drab."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 384 words, 12/10/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Taymor doesn't capture Shakespeare's tone (or his meaning, I believe), but she certainly has boldness in her reinvention."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 801 words, 12/16/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: WEAK "Taymor's overscaled sense of stage spectacle can be impressive and effective, even moving, but her three-dimensional, high-volume compositions translate awkwardly..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 951 words, 12/10/10
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: POOR(cg) "...like a high-minded midnight movie, filled with Ricky's-style costumes, black swans, sprites that flit across the screen and a cave filled with boiling beakers."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 324 words, 12/10/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: POOR "Julie Taymor, a filmmaking savant of extraordinary vision and voice, suddenly and surprisingly folds. This is a tentative film and a disappointment..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 889 words, 12/10/10
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "...a pretty frustrating adaptation of Shakespeare's play, one that dog-paddles around in ever-more-frenetic circles, searching for a way inside the material."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 474 words, 12/17/10
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Although it falls off precipitously, it's better to have Julie Taymor's 'The Tempest' than not: The first half-hour is nearly as unfettered as Shakespeare's language."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 360 words, 12/13/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Taymor doesn't capture Shakespeare's tone (or his meaning, I believe), but she certainly has boldness in her reinvention."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 801 words, 12/16/10
Ernest Hardy, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...visuals are alternately inspired and horrible (dated CGI), never approaching the giddy anachronism of Taymor's cinematic debut, 'Titus'... the film lacks a pulse."(See all of Ernest Hardy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 236 words, 12/08/10
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...just another example of middling, muddled Shakespeare, a far less dynamic adaptation than Taymor managed in 'Titus,' her 1999 version of 'Titus Andronicus.' "(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 666 words, 12/17/10
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "Most plays-turned-movies try to open things up. Taymor still thinks like a theater director, ending up with a 'Tempest' that takes place in a teapot."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 628 words, 12/17/10
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: MODERATE(cg) "Boldly Taymor changes Prospero's gender, casting the magnificent Helen Mirren as Prospera... But there is little else magical about Taymor's flatfooted rendition..."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 291 words, 12/17/10
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: WEAK(cg) "The effects are dazzling, the cast is stellar, the play is timeless, the movie is wretched.... should leave us bedazzled but merely renders us dazed."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 422 words, 12/17/10
Lawson Taitte, Dallas Morning News: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...adapts Shakespeare to the screen with boldness and imagination. Bard buffs are likely to love it... long prized as Shakespeare's poetic farewell to his stage career..."(See all of Lawson Taitte's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 589 words, 12/17/10
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "Taymor's works are too much of a too muchness, inventive without a sense of play, creative without taking any joy in the creation.... typical Taymor, if in a minor key."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 715 words, 12/17/10
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...not a mediocre film. It is, by turns, a great and awful film.... What's great is Helen Mirren as Prospero... What's awful is the rustic comedy..."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 821 words, 12/10/10
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...veers from ethereal beauty (its closing credit sequence, as a book of magic softly drowns in a dark sea, is a stunner) to mystifying cheesiness."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 387 words, 12/17/10
Ernest Hardy, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...visuals are alternately inspired and horrible (dated CGI), never approaching the giddy anachronism of Taymor's cinematic debut, 'Titus'... the film lacks a pulse."(See all of Ernest Hardy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 236 words, 12/08/10
S.I. Rosenbaum, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Mirren's Prospera is fierce and creepy and bitter, as she should be. But the film left me feeling unsatisfied.... it is full of missed opportunities."(See all of S.I. Rosenbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 632 words, 12/16/10
Keith Phipps, AV Club: GOOD(cg) "...not stunning but it is sturdy, a handsome-enough showcase of a film that never really comes to life. It plays like a challenge politely declined."(See all of Keith Phipps's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 398 words, 12/09/10
Aaron Cutler, Slant: MODERATE(cg) "...it does fundamentally fail Shakespeare's play.... actors are so busy laughing and shouting the jokes, the comedy in particular suffers."(See all of Aaron Cutler's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 768 words, 10/02/10
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: VERY GOOD(cg) "...messy but thrilling... a lovely, mysterious film, and a gorgeously cinematic mounting of the Bard the likes of which you'd never, ever see onstage."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 298 words, 03/07/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (4 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: WEAK "Taymor's overscaled sense of stage spectacle can be impressive and effective, even moving, but her three-dimensional, high-volume compositions translate awkwardly..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 951 words, 12/10/10
David Denby, New Yorker: VERY GOOD "Taymor has played with Shakepeare's text -- switching genders, and inventing, dropping, and transposing passages -- but there's an emotional gain."(See all of David Denby's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 261 words, 12/13/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: POOR "Julie Taymor, a filmmaking savant of extraordinary vision and voice, suddenly and surprisingly folds. This is a tentative film and a disappointment..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 889 words, 12/10/10
Leslie Felperin, Daily Variety: WEAK "...so kitschy, yet curiously drab and banal, that even supporters may hope Julie Taymor will break her staff and drown her book.... it's a poor, bare, fork'd thing."(See all of Leslie Felperin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 881 words, 09/11/10
Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter: MODERATE "...looks disappointingly middle-of-the-road. Even the great Helen Mirren is steady and reliable but unexciting.... an attractive and easy-to-digest production..."(See all of Deborah Young's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 944 words, 09/13/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: POOR "Julie Taymor, a filmmaking savant of extraordinary vision and voice, suddenly and surprisingly folds. This is a tentative film and a disappointment..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 889 words, 12/10/10
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: MODERATE(cg) "...bold and innovative but largely unsuccessful... the visual style and pacing often change from sequence to sequence, but with no apparent logic or reason."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 926 words, 11/16/10
A.O. Scott, New York Times: WEAK "Taymor's overscaled sense of stage spectacle can be impressive and effective, even moving, but her three-dimensional, high-volume compositions translate awkwardly..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 951 words, 12/10/10
20.4 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Tempest (2010)'s reviews are separated by an average 20.4 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Tempest (2010) (37 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Tempest (2010)'s reviews cover 85.9% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 18,766 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 507 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 3 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Tempest (2010)'s reviews on average broke 3 days after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Tempest (2010)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Tempest (2010) (37 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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