Have No Fear: The Life Of Pope John Paul II

New York PostAdam Buckman

Kretschmann... delivers one of the finest performances seen on TV this year.

Wall Street JournalNancy DeWolf Smith

Any way you portray Karol Wojtyla, he comes out looking extraordinary.

The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley

The movie races so quickly through the milestones of his career... that some of the most powerful moments in his papacy are underplayed.

Entertainment WeeklyTimothy Guanatilaka

This heart-tugger suffers from efficiency. [2 Dec 2005, p.74]

USA TodayRobert Bianco

Fear plays like an illustrated Life of the Saints on fast-forward. Blink and you can miss decades.

Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm

Partially because of its more cursory treatment of the Pope's life, the show seems less preachy and more emotional than the CBS effort, and more appropriate.

TimeJames Poniewozik

In the end, both [CBS' and ABC's Pope] movies stick to what viewers can agree on (commies and Nazis, bad; love, good), while skipping much of the Pope's sometimes polarizing tenure as a leader.

Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron

This depiction of John Paul II as half human, half saint -- though hardly unexpected and possibly even warranted -- leaves us with a character that is less dimensional and less relatable and, consequently, less interesting.

NewsdayVerne Gay

All this feels dutiful and rote - the CliffsNotes version.

VarietyBrian Lowry

Granted, the smaller time frame makes it more difficult to chronicle an 80-some-odd-year life, but what emerges is a CliffsNotes version that fastidiously avoids crowd shots (presumably to keep costs down) and struggles to create drama with its worshipful tone.

San Jose Mercury NewsCharlie McCollum

Anything remotely resembling complexity and nuance has been sacrificed to cramming six decades of history into two hours of airtime, minus commercials.

Los Angeles TimesRobert Lloyd

The accelerating pace of the movie runs roughshod over the drama.

SlateDana Stevens

It zips through 60-plus years of Wojtyla's life at a pace that manages to be both breakneck and boring.

Chicago TribuneSid Smith

The movie is more a series of biographical announcements than penetrating drama.

New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley

Stiflingly reverential, sadly superficial.

Pittsburgh Post-GazetteAnn Rodgers

Because the movie tries to cover too much ground, it will be incoherent for those who don't already know the story, and disappointing for those who do. Worse, it is off-key in its presentation of both minor and major passages of his life.

Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland

Largely worthless.

Washington PostTom Shales

Even though the life of the Polish pope... obviously is loaded with dramatic potential, the film seems listlessly uninterested in exploring it.

Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert

Turns the pope into a pious stick figure.

Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman

I think I could have written a better script during the two hours it took me to watch "Have No Fear." I think you could, too, and I don't even know you.