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Count of Monte Cristo, The
EMAILPRINTBuena Vista Pictures

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 33 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 43 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller
Written by:
Jay Wolpert
Alexandre Dumas père (novel)
Directed by: Kevin Reynolds
Release Date:
Theatrical: January 25, 2002
DVD: September 10, 2002
Running Time: 115 minutes, Color
Origin: UK / USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for adventure violence/swordplay and some sensuality
Starring Guy Pearce, James Caviezel, Dagmara Dominczyk, Richard Harris, Luis Guzmán, JB Blanc, Henry Cavill, and James Frain
Alexandre Dumas's classic story of an innocent man wrongly but deliberately imprisoned and his brilliant strategy for revenge against those who betrayed him. (Touchstone Pictures)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Tristan & Isolde Waterworld
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan
Utterly thrilling and enthralling, a commercial film that paces itself wonderfully, never allowing the action or romance to outweigh its story and characters. For mainstream adventure fare, that's quite an accomplishment.
Washington Post Stephen Hunter
That tale gets a first-class Hallmark Hall of Fame treatment in Kevin Reynolds's swaggering The Count of Monte Cristo, which is old-form moviemaking at its best.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Chuck Wilson
Reynolds, working in close harmony with cinematographer Andrew Dunn (Gosford Park), brings an infectious brio and an occasional sweeping grace to the classic trappings of Dumas.
Read Full Review >Variety Joe Leydon
A lavishly mounted and appealingly old-fashioned swashbuckler with nary a trace of wink-wink irony or revisionist embellishment.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
It's a heady mix of the earnest, the grave, and the frivolous. Wizardly director Kevin Reynolds even manages to condense into a single shot, with a wisp of humor, several of the hero’s long years in a dungeon without making them any less grueling.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
This is the kind of adventure picture the studios churned out in the Golden Age -- so traditional it almost feels new.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
Performances by Jim Caviezel and Richard Harris make this a great adventure.
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
It pays homage to the genre's most glorious days.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Charles Savage
An exhilarating visualization of Alexandre Dumas' classic novel of betrayal and vengeance.
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
This delicious adventure of crude betrayal and elegant revenge is yummy even when reheated by director Kevin Reynolds.
San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham
The stuff of high romance, brought off with considerable wit, too. People are going to love it.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Sail to the box office, swashbucklers. Dumas is back in style.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
While fleeting moments from Pearce and Luis Guzmán (as Caviezel's loyal servant) suggest the film might have been even more fun had they been allowed to loosen up a bit, the finished product still offers little cause for complaint.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Jessica Winter
The week's guilty pleasure is The Count of Monte Cristo, a gorgeously photographed, sumptuously designed adaptation of the Dumas swashbuckler boasting the most ludicrous dialogue since director Kevin Reynolds's "Waterworld."
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
The new Count moves with the smooth, plastic efficiency of a TV miniseries. Inspiration and originality may be in short supply, but the movie gets the job done.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Michael Dequina
The film tells an engaging swashbuckler on its own terms, and that's what director Kevin Reynolds has done with this old-fashioned romp of revenge.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
As a revenge thriller, the movie is serviceable, but it doesn't really deliver the delicious guilty pleasure of the better film versions.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
The best thing in The Count of Monte Cristo is Guy Pearce's snot-nosed hauteur. He gives this scoundrel some wounded edges, and frills as well.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
For younger audiences drawn by the attractive actors, this might be their introduction to the Dumas epic. At least it's an effective and rousing version.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Don Irvine
The story stands up pretty well for a movie that's about 20 minutes longer than it ought to be, and has few of the action-beats that action-film audiences have grown accustomed to.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Loren King
Wolpert and Reynolds seem to be aiming for the ''Titantic'' audience at the expense of sophistication and historical relevance. It's too bad. The able cast, not to mention Alexandre Dumas, deserves better.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
A mediocre production that nevertheless will strike a deep and resonant chord with viewers.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
This is solid entertainment, and the time Caviezel and Pearce spent training for their sword fights pays off handsomely.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Dana Stevens
The film's resolute indifference to fashion makes it, perhaps paradoxically, a refreshing piece of old-style entertainment, accompanied by a whooshing, trembling score by Edward Shearmur.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jami Bernard
With more buckling than swash, The Count of Monte Cristo is a good-looking, poorly acted washout.
New Times (L.A.) Robert Wilonsky
In the end, it's a film so short on style and verve it feels lifeless; audiences might feel imprisoned in the Château d'If, praying for escape or quick death. Thankfully, one need not tunnel out of a movie theater.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
This latest version, made with the MTV generation in mind, is arguably the least impressive of the filmed Counts.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
James Caviezel makes us care more about that innocent romantic, Edmond Dantes, than we may care to care about the rest of the picture, which entertains in fits and starts, with startling ruptures in tone.
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
This seems to be a movie made by people who love the old classic movie swashbucklers but don't have a clue how to make or modernize them.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
More fun than Peter Hyams' "The Musketeer," and somewhat less so than "The Man in the Iron Mask," this is middling Dumas all the way.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Revenge may be sweet, but this is one "Monte Cristo" that leaves a sour taste.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Jeff Stark
To say the film doesn't quite recapture the thrill of the novel is like saying that soda pop doesn't really have the same kick as heroin.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
This is the time of the year movie studios traditionally dump their mistakes into theaters -- and boy, did Disney make a whopper with The Count of Monte Cristo.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 43 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Patrick I. gave it a9:
The Count of Monte Cristo is an excellent piece of work, even though it doesn't follow the book as does the Gerard Depardieu version. The movie is quite one of the best dramas of the 2000's. Enjoyed very much!
Andi B. gave it a9:
Kept me on the edge of my seat and a dashing performance by Caviezel and Pearce. Want to see more of Caviezel. This is one I will buy for my library.
Taryn N gave it a10:
This is my FAVOURITE movie of all time.
Myles #13 gave it an8:
Although 'The Count of Monte Cristo' on film is VERY different from the novel, this movie actually maintains the spirit of the book in its adaptation, while coming up with an adventurous ending. Caviezel fits the role perfectly, and Richard Harris (in one of his last appearances) steals the show. Take a look, see for yourself!
Paul S. gave it a10:
Simply one of the most well-done films of all time. Well-acted, with a great storyline. Very well done.
Jonathan B. gave it a10:
How refreshing! A movie that actually feels like a movie ought to and cheats you out of nothing. Great performances - LOVE JB Blanc as the smuggler Luigi - need to see more of him in the movies....everyone was great though and the cinematography just shines. A lot of fun.
Craig A. gave it an8:
Solid stuff. Forget Lucas. This is Revenge at its best.
