Anna and the King

Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday

Will remind filmgoers that one of the chief pleasures of going to the movies is a good old-fashioned swoon

Boston Globe Jay Carr

A big, handsome throwback to star-powered historical costume movies.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

If you're seeking transcendent love this season, skip the morose "End of the Affair" and go with Anna and the King.

San Francisco Examiner Walter Addiego

Entertaining but predictable, and too long.

Chicago Tribune Marc Caro

In the end you feel like you've been taken on a pleasing, professionally run tourist trip that let you enjoy the sights without ever really inhabiting the land.

Film.com Tom Keogh

It is Foster who presents the biggest single problem, delivering a monochromatic performance that finds her character not much more than flinty and strained.

Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf

Grand entertainment in the old-fashioned sense.

TV Guide Ken Fox

This is a smart and splendidly decorated rethinking of Anna Leonowens's famous chronicle

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Yun-Fat is magnetic and majestic, and the story, no matter that it is not entirely true, continues to fascinate.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Foster and Yun-Fat each show about three-quarters of their characters.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

The kind of unsophisticated family entertainment they supposedly don't make anymore.

Time Richard Schickel

Cutting through the epic gesturings of Andy Tennant's direction, he (Yun-Fat Chow) provides reason enough to return one last time to this otherwise weary romance

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

The problem with Anna and the King is that it's caught halfway between then and now--- the film tries to throw in notions of cultural relativism and big power imperialism, but can't do without corny shtick.

TNT RoughCut Daysun Chang

Focuses on everything and nothing like a grown-up Disney phenom, making it a great family movie enjoyable for everyone.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

Old-fashioned Hollywood filmmaking at its best .

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

A musical number or two might have balanced the overdetermined politics and spectacle in this version.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Has the rambling pace of an episodic 1950s costume drama.

Newsweek David Ansen

Hollywood rarely mounts these lavish period epics anymore. It's nice to see them try, even if the result is somewhat less than heart-stopping.

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

Despite good performances and moments of spectacle, it seems to go on longer than the Cultural Revolution.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

It's a painstakingly correct update of what is, let's face it, one of the least culturally correct love stories ever to be mythologized by Hollywood.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It pales in comparison to its two classic predecessors, and also just generally feels like one too many trips to the well.

Variety Emanuel Levy

Her (Foster's) performance is contained in a schmaltzy, ultra-elaborate, overly long production.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Doesn't develop enough momentum to justify its too-long running time.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Fails as the big-screen romance it wants to be. The main problem: There's only one heart between the principals, and it beats solely in Chow's chest.

USA Today Andy Seiler

The movie is something of a white elephant itself, a luxuriant, lumbering behemoth. It is pleasant, occasionally amusing - and often dull.

Portland Oregonian Diana Abu-Jaber

Leaves an unpleasant aftertaste: viewers will find that a musical can indeed help the medicine go down

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Chow Yun-Fat is the only reason to see Anna and the King -- the only thing you'll remember from this lavish, tastefully dull movie.

Village Voice Dennis Lim

Dusted off for one more run-through, and for those who applauded "Titanic's" old-is-new ethos, the moth-eaten, barely breathing Anna and the King will serve as a slap in the face.

San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham

Before it runs off track--it does have some spectacular moments.

Film.com Gemma Files

The lack of chemistry between he (Yun-Fat) and Foster is truly striking: so much so, in fact, that the strain of trying to manufacture some keeps her looking on the verge of outright illness throughout.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Foster, I believe, sees right through this material and out the other side, and doesn't believe in a bit of it.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Colorful and a passable drama, one that highlights the difficulties of cross-cultural love affairs and the exoticism of the Third World.