| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 67 |
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
Half-baked Herzog, though it has twinkles of theatrical purity that remind you of when his vision was grand.
|
| 63 |
Boston Globe
Wesley Morris
Is a mellowed Herzog to be believed?
|
| 63 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
Invincible works, simply but provocatively, as a parable about the oppressed and the oppressors, victimhood and fanaticism.
|
| 63 |
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
Erratically acted and, at times, clumsily written.
|
| 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.
|
| 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.
|
| 60 |
Film Threat
Richard Cline
There are some realistic, scary themes at work here that make it worth a look.
|
| 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.
|
| 50 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Edward Guthmann
A strange but oddly memorable film.
|
| 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.
|
| 40 |
Village Voice
Michael Atkinson
What's more disappointing is how filthy Invincible is with missed opportunities for Herzog to be Herzog.
|
| 40 |
Variety
David Stratton
This potentially intriguing story winds up being dull and at times faintly silly.
|
| 25 |
New York Post
V.A. Musetto
It's depressing to see how far Herzog has fallen.
|
| 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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