Hamlet

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

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.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

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.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

New York becomes a complex character in this vital and sharply intelligent film.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

If this Hamlet weren't so perfectly conceived visually, it would probably stand solidly on the basis of its acting alone.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

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.

Slate David Edelstein

A marvelous feat of re-imagination.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Almereyda's smart, streamlined adaptation is full of such neat little ironies.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Fresh, vibrant and vital, this interpretation reminds us why Shakespeare is timeless.

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.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Thou wilt be dazzled.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

These are great, primal stories that pull you in, make you care and put you on the edge of madness and violence.

Newsweek Dakota Smith

New York City has never looked so slick and shallow as it does in Hamlet, an innovative, contemporary adaptation.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Cast for fun, and the whimsy is enjoyable both for its parody of heavy-handed "relevant" updates of the play.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

This is a sizzling, invigorating Hamlet.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Both a distraction and a revelation.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

Hamlet finds in Hawke's greatish performance a Great Dane for this, or any other, modern moment.

Film.com Peter Brunette

It goes without saying that the film is worth seeing simply for Bill Murray's Polonius.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

Stylish, funny, and smart...but only up to a point.

Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard

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.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Bill Murray's Polonius is so delightfully coy and self-satisfied that this performance is reason alone to see the picture.

Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday

Almereyda has done a splendid job of rendering Hamlet as expressive visually as it is verbally.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

As Almereyda unrolled his modern Gotham version, the story became gripping, the characters fascinating, the events mesmerizing, the resolution shocking and piteous.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Some of the contemporary winks are questionable, but others are undeniably sharp.

Variety Dennis Harvey

This slacker prince (Hawke) comprises a sinkhole at the center of adaptor-helmer Michael Almereyda's otherwise compelling contempo update.

TV Guide Steve Simels

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.

Dallas Observer Andy Klein

Despite the few good performances, this Hamlet is not a keeper.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

It commits the only crime that can be committed against Shakespeare: It makes him boring.

Film.com Ernest Hardy

Hamlet, like its title character, is a mopey, dopey thing that you just want to scream at: Do something!

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

But all the devices and upgrades do little to bring the poetry's meaning into clearer and more relevant focus for today's audiences.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

A darkly interesting distraction but not much more.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

May well be the dullest and most pointless version ever filmed, thanks to a stunningly bad lead performance by Ethan Hawke.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

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.