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The King
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Metascore
58 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 29 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Gael García Bernal, Laura Harring, William Hurt
  • Summary: Elvis Valderez (Bernal) is a twenty-one year old dreamer who has just been honorably discharged from the US Navy. With his duffle bag and rifle, he travels back to his hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas, where he intends to seek out his father -- a man he has only heard about from his Mexican mother, who has since passed away. (ThinkFilm)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 29
  3. Negative: 3 out of 29
  1. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    100
    The King's perception of religion is hardly friendly, but it's only one aspect of a terrific drama, one that ultimately admits that people can be as much of a terrifying mystery as their creator.
  2. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    50
    A darkly disturbing melodrama anchored by some powerful performances.
  3. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    30
    A lurid, overheated Southern Gothic that wallows in its own unpleasantness.

See all 29 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. ArmondA.
    8
    This film makes a great deal of sense as a portrait of a Psychopathic Personality (or any of the official titles that such people have been given in the Psychiatric classification schemes). The authors and makers of the movie have constructed a very fine example of the psychopath, using their artistic and very intuitive sense of what kinds of traits and behavior patterns seemed to "hang together". Furthermore they have even shown how a lost soul with a very poor conscience and little control over strong impulses can cause terrible damage under the right (or wrong) circumstances. The mistake that the film-makers make comes from this understandable error, which considers only the foul monsters of Night of the Hunter, The Stepfather, and varioius "deranged" serial killers. Had the writers understood the subtle deficiencies of the psychopathic personality, they might have been able to connect the outcome with the beginning and middle of the story. Of course, if anyone is ill-equipped to realize what he's got on his hands it would be a religious man who tends to see things, and people, as either "good or "bad". Our young sailor was more of a swiss cheese than a bar of either gold or sulfur. I'm giving this movie an 8--lots of good elements, but a story that leads to headscratching.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. BillyS.
    8
    When a movie comes to town without any fanfare, no t.v. spots, not even an ad in the Friday paper, go see it! 9 out of 10 times it will be far better than that weeks hollywood blockbuster playing on every other screen in the city. Case in point- The King. A little film with a couple of great actors who didn't get 10 million dollars each but cared enough to want to tell a interesting, complex story and trusted the director to tell it his way. Gael Garcia Bernal has made an incridible string of movies since Amores Perres and I can't wait for The Science of Sleep when he teams with Michel Gundry and William Hurt, as always, makes any movie worth seeing. As for the ending, I LOVED IT!! The long tracking shot leading up to it was pure Altman and I thought the music was spot on. I'd rather go to a movie that I'm going to think about long after it's over than go see a Lady in the Water where it's more like getting out of jail when it's over anyday.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. JimG.
    4
    Some good actors can't overcome unsatisfactory screenplay, poorly edited. Gael is a pleasure to look at, but the story doesn't hang together.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 6 User Reviews

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