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Invincible

EMAILPRINTFine Line Features

Invincible reviews
55
7.0 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 2 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: E. Max Frye
Werner Herzog

Directed by: Werner Herzog

Release Date:
Theatrical: September 20, 2002
DVD: June 3, 2003

Running Time: 135 minutes, Color

Origin: USA / UK / Germany

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for some sexual content and thematic elements

Starring Tim Roth, Jouko Ahola, Anna Gourari, Max Raabe, Jacob Wein, Gustav-Peter Wöhler, Udo Kier, and Herbert Golder

The true story of a simple man who is transported from his humble village roots to the giddy excesses of the 1930s Berlin and finds himself becoming the new Samson to protect the Jewish people. (Fine Line Features)

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...

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Watching Invincible was a singular experience for me, because it reminded me of the fundamental power that the cinema had for us when we were children. The film exercises the power that fable has for the believing.

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80

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

The period is evoked with care and imagination, and the film glows with Peter Zeitlinger's cinematography. It has some bravura images and surreal moments typical of Herzog, and composers Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt have contributed a lovely score.

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80

The New York Times Stephen Holden

If Invincible is soft at the center, its visual grandeur and mostly full-blooded performances make it gripping, for this eminent German director has pulled off the tricky feat of elevating a true story into a larger-than-life allegory.

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70

Chicago Reader J. R. Jones

Though Ahola's acting is unschooled, to say the least, Herzog shrewdly uses his blunt sincerity to counterpoint Roth's spectacularly icy performance.

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70

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

An extraordinary story uniquely suited to Herzog's abilities, it eventually becomes easy to accept Ahola as a nearly mute witness to the obsessives around him, most immediately Tim Roth in a striking performance as Ahola's employer.

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67

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Half-baked Herzog, though it has twinkles of theatrical purity that remind you of when his vision was grand.

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63

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Is a mellowed Herzog to be believed?

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63

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Invincible works, simply but provocatively, as a parable about the oppressed and the oppressors, victimhood and fanaticism.

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63

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Erratically acted and, at times, clumsily written.

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63

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

Invincible lacks Herzog's usual visual and intellectual panache, and is afflicted by weak English-language acting, which makes it more of a career curio than a major work.

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60

LA Weekly Hazel-Dawn Dumpert

A wonderful movie. For every misstep there are the sublime expressions of agony and ecstasy of which Herzog is a master.

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60

Film Threat Richard Cline

There are some realistic, scary themes at work here that make it worth a look.

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50

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Herzog has certainly found a fascinating subject, but he does surprisingly little with it, especially considering the 135- minute running time.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

A strange but oddly memorable film.

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40

TV Guide Ken Fox

Steers clear of historical accuracy. Herzog is obviously looking for a moral to his fable, but the notion that a strong, unified showing among Germany and Eastern European Jews might have changed 20th-Century history is undermined by Ahola's inadequate performance.

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40

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

What's more disappointing is how filthy Invincible is with missed opportunities for Herzog to be Herzog.

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40

Variety David Stratton

This potentially intriguing story winds up being dull and at times faintly silly.

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25

New York Post V.A. Musetto

It's depressing to see how far Herzog has fallen.

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20

New Times (L.A.) Jean Oppenheimer

The predominantly amateur cast is painful to watch, so stilted and unconvincing are the performances. Poor Roth has nobody to play against and flounders in trying to keep the ship upright. Herzog aims for a kind of operatic sweep that he fails to achieve.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Charlie D. gave it a9:
Enthralling. Nothing phony here.

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