| 100 |
Entertainment Weekly
Almereyda excises big chunks of plot to shape his vision, but retains Shakespeare's language and pays such rigorous attention to meaning and subtext that what's missing isn't missed.
|
| 100 |
Los Angeles Times
Almereyda imagines Hamlet taking place in present-day Manhattan with such vigor, insight and originality that the power and immediacy of his film makes Shakespeare accessible in an exciting and provocative manner beyond all expectations.
|
| 100 |
The New York Times
New York becomes a complex character in this vital and sharply intelligent film.
|
| 100 |
Salon.com
If this Hamlet weren't so perfectly conceived visually, it would probably stand solidly on the basis of its acting alone.
|
| 100 |
Christian Science Monitor
The acting is smart and gritty, Almereyda's visual style has a raw immediacy found in few films with Shakespearean pedigrees, and an eclectic music score adds atmosphere and surprise every step of the way.
|
| 90 |
Slate
A marvelous feat of re-imagination.
|
| 88 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
Almereyda's smart, streamlined adaptation is full of such neat little ironies.
|
| 83 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Fresh, vibrant and vital, this interpretation reminds us why Shakespeare is timeless.
|
| 80 |
Chicago Reader
Editor
Almereyda's respect for his audience and his queasiness about the present register with equal weight, reinventing the poetry in the most relevant ways possible.
|
| 80 |
Rolling Stone
Thou wilt be dazzled.
|
| 80 |
Washington Post
These are great, primal stories that pull you in, make you care and put you on the edge of madness and violence.
|
| 80 |
Newsweek
Dakota Smith
New York City has never looked so slick and shallow as it does in Hamlet, an innovative, contemporary adaptation.
|
| 80 |
LA Weekly
Cast for fun, and the whimsy is enjoyable both for its parody of heavy-handed "relevant" updates of the play.
|
| 75 |
Boston Globe
This is a sizzling, invigorating Hamlet.
|
| 75 |
Chicago Sun-Times
Both a distraction and a revelation.
|
| 75 |
San Francisco Examiner
Hamlet finds in Hawke's greatish performance a Great Dane for this, or any other, modern moment.
|
| 70 |
Film.com
It goes without saying that the film is worth seeing simply for Bill Murray's Polonius.
|
| 70 |
Village Voice
Stylish, funny, and smart...but only up to a point.
|
| 68 |
Mr. Showbiz
Almereyda never plays up the gimmickry at the expense of the performances, and as a result, his movie largely succeeds, despite an overabundance of pretentious pokes at our consumer culture and the risky casting of Ethan Hawke in the lead role.
|
| 67 |
Austin Chronicle
Bill Murray's Polonius is so delightfully coy and self-satisfied that this performance is reason alone to see the picture.
|
| 63 |
Baltimore Sun
Almereyda has done a splendid job of rendering Hamlet as expressive visually as it is verbally.
|
| 63 |
Chicago Tribune
As Almereyda unrolled his modern Gotham version, the story became gripping, the characters fascinating, the events mesmerizing, the resolution shocking and piteous.
|
| 63 |
New York Daily News
Some of the contemporary winks are questionable, but others are undeniably sharp.
|
| 60 |
Variety
This slacker prince (Hawke) comprises a sinkhole at the center of adaptor-helmer Michael Almereyda's otherwise compelling contempo update.
|
| 60 |
TV Guide
Has an interesting look, several sensational performances (notably from Kyle MacLachlan and Liev Schreiber) and in general works far better than it has any right to.
|
| 60 |
Dallas Observer
Despite the few good performances, this Hamlet is not a keeper.
|
| 50 |
San Francisco Chronicle
It commits the only crime that can be committed against Shakespeare: It makes him boring.
|
| 50 |
Film.com
Hamlet, like its title character, is a mopey, dopey thing that you just want to scream at: Do something!
|
| 50 |
USA Today
But all the devices and upgrades do little to bring the poetry's meaning into clearer and more relevant focus for today's audiences.
|
| 40 |
Washington Post
A darkly interesting distraction but not much more.
|
| 38 |
New York Post
May well be the dullest and most pointless version ever filmed, thanks to a stunningly bad lead performance by Ethan Hawke.
|
| 38 |
Charlotte Observer
Hamlet has audacity, intelligence, a provocative visual and musical style, virtually no poetry, a garbled story line weakened by savage cutting of the play, and a great yawning hole where a Hamlet ought to be.
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