47 Ronin
Universal Pictures | Release Date: December 25, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
28
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
8
Negative:
12
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyDec 27, 2013
A multi-colored downer fantasy which combines bursts of imagination with a bleak worldview, resulting in something that rarely feels mainstream. Read full review
60
EmpireKim NewmanDec 23, 2013
Perhaps a folly and – Kikuchi aside - too deadpan to be a romp, this is still a decent, colourful samurai spectacle with a classical look (lots of symmetrical compositions) and a story which stands up under multiple retellings. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriJan 5, 2014
This one never quite decides if it wants to be a big, boisterous epic or a solemn retelling, and it nearly disappears into the crack between the two. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandDec 28, 2013
An odd mix of stiff and sumptuous. Read full review
50
New York PostSara StewartDec 24, 2013
There’s little sense of urgency, or — oddly, given the film’s title — of scale. You never really think that the 47 are truly outnumbered, and the large action scenes are often just incomprehensible. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia PuigDec 23, 2013
While the visuals are lovely to behold, this unremarkable version of the classic 18th century Japanese legend is stiff and uninvolving. Read full review
40
The GuardianMike McCahillDec 28, 2013
Hollywood's latest play for the growing Asian market revisits the ancient Japanese legend of self-sacrifice, hoping to offset its garbled narrative and grinding humourlessness with 3D and Keanu Reeves as a samurai Jesus. Read full review
40
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldDec 24, 2013
47 Ronin can’t entirely paper over the void at its center, traceable partly to the shadowboxing of computer-aided filmmaking or studio tinkering. Read full review
40
VarietyPeter DebrugeDec 23, 2013
As impressive as these visual elements prove to be, the film struggles to grab and maintain audiences’ interest, whether or not they know the underlying legend by heart. Read full review
37
Washington PostMark JenkinsDec 26, 2013
Ultimately, the movie just doesn’t justify its outrageous bid to turn a solemn tale of self-sacrifice into swaggering global-marketplace entertainment. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenDec 24, 2013
Rinsch, making his feature debut, shows the shortcoming of someone coming from the image-based world of commercials and advertising. There are moments of genuine beauty and a few terrifically eye-popping effects, but no feel yet for storytelling. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyDec 23, 2013
It falls short on character definition, emotional involvement, narrative drive and originality. Read full review
25
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreDec 26, 2013
It’s a movie of pointless scenes. Read full review
25
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsDec 25, 2013
In spite of its enjoyable, easy-to-exploit aspects, 47 Ronin is a big budget spectacle hamstrung by its need to be at once flippant and respectful of its honor-driven source material. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaDec 22, 2013
This botched vision accepts the warrior's nobility at face value and sees the story merely as a springboard for high-flying action and CGI special effects. Read full review
20
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlDec 26, 2013
This Hungarian-shot bore is so indistinct it reeks of no place more than Hollywood, where the fascinating specifics of history and legend are ground into universal mush. Read full review
20
The DissolveNathan RabinDec 26, 2013
47 Ronin is elephantine and lumbering, a wobbly, would-be epic that aspires to the scope and majesty of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, but comes up woefully short. Read full review
20
Time OutKeith UhlichDec 25, 2013
The basics of the story remain unchanged, but it’s the wanna-be-blockbuster additions that rankle, be it the incoherent direction of first-time feature director Carl Rinsch or the copious CGI beasties who look like rejected "Lord of the Rings" villains. Read full review
20
Total FilmMatt GlasbyDec 23, 2013
“I will search for you through 1,000 worlds and 10,000 lifetimes!” Reeves promises his beloved. Anyone who sits all the way through this glossy folly will know exactly how that feels. Read full review
5
Film.comDavid EhrlichDec 23, 2013
Insufferably boring, culturally hegemonic, and profoundly ugly. Read full review
0
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierDec 24, 2013
In the monumentally dull 47 Ronin, Reeves mumbles monosyllabic claptrap between dull action scenes. And it’s a shame: At almost 50 years old, the actor allows this turgid, clanky flick to play to his worst stereotypes. Read full review
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