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75Despite the movie's dramatic weaknesses, I was spellbound by the images.
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67Far from a great movie, it nonetheless does its job as a family adventure and saga of a woman's personal growth.
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63Consist of little more than people arguing or clambering in and out of dusty Land Rovers.
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60Though beautifully acted by Basinger (everyone else is relegated to a supporting role), there's a strange vagueness to much of this sumptuous, stunningly photographed melodrama.
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60This film, based on a true story, transcends its handsomeness to present a subtle portrait of a woman's growing consciousness.
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50There is a lack of drama and telling detail. When events happen, they seem more like set pieces than part of the flow.
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Doesn't have much plot. It just sort of meanders around like a wildebeest playing Blind Man's Bluff.
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50A wisp of a movie that dissipates the moment you leave the theater.
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50Ends up a nightmare of a star vehicle.
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50Surprisingly dull and predictable in its characterizations.
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50Frill-less almost to the point of minimalist, teary without being lachrymose, hers is a performance you'd think was great were the movie in a language you didn't understand.
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50While Basinger admirably invests her role with deep passion and looks splendid in her Kenya khakis, the true story she stars in is disappointingly tame and dramatically inert.
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50Like the star's acting, the movie is bland, full of good intentions and generally as stiff as a fireplace poker.
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50Basinger herself doesn't have the vibrancy of a female hero.
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40There's little room for Kuki to evolve into anything approaching an actual character, and it would take an actress far greater than Basinger, who gives it her all, to make something of the role.
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39Why waste the price of a movie ticket when you can see wildebeests cavorting for free from the comfort of your own recliner?
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33A recitation of woes doesn't constitute a plot, and panoramic shots of migrating wildlife don't convey enough African flavor.
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30Plods along in the Oscar-winning, yawn-inducing tradition of "Out of Africa," making me yearn for something less "National Geographic."
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30There is no obvious reason for the film's meandering existence: it's a series of beautifully photographed postcards of Africa.
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30Advance word of mouth has suggested that Ms. Basinger...turns in a performance comparable to Meryl Streep's in "Out of Africa." Would that it were so. Ms. Basinger certainly works hard at her role.
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30The story the film tells ruins the movie.
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30Ultimately the movie is alluring and respectful--its sadness may be what saves it from becoming sensationalist or trite.
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30A fabulous movie if you are a woman over 40 who likes to use the word "empowered" a lot.
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25The story is inspirational in a superficial way, but the filmmakers focus so exclusively on their attractive heroine that the picture loses any real connection with Africa.
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25Here's hoping your own dreams of Africa are more interesting -- and better acted -- than this movie.
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20I Dreamed Of Africa...and all I got was this lousy movie.
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20Hudson keeps the movie rambling and episodic, deferring to the imposing backdrop whenever possible.
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20A wobbly Basinger and a feeble screenplay doom I Dreamed of Africa.
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20This is a Laura Ashley on Safari meditation on bored rich people searching for fulfillment and a new life among the photogenic wildlife of Kenya. Just wake me when it's over.
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20Visually gratifying but dramatically weak, the film falls short of its aspiration to be a sweeping romantic epic.