Gods and Monsters
Lions Gate Films | Release Date: November 4, 1998 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
28
Mixed:
3
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ExaminerBob Stephens
One of the most complex and powerful literary scripts in recent times. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
An actors' feast. Read full review
100
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
The film, built around McKellen's magnificent performance, is a sleek and deceptively artful work, a bio-pic that manages to encompass the whole of a man's rich life by concentrating solely on the final months of it.
100
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Achieves its exquisite tension--deepening beautifully from a "Death in Venice" setup to an imaginative meditation, on art and life, of uncommon sensitivity. Read full review
90
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
A profoundly moving human drama, a quasi love story about two lost men who form an unlikely friendship.
90
Washington PostRita Kempley
In a performance of enormous complexity and nuance, emotions seem to race across McKellen's face like hurrying clouds. Read full review
90
Film.comPeter Brunette
A strange and lovely combination of cinematic nostalgia and offbeat (gay) love story.
90
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Elegantly witty and haunting . . . McKellen gives the performance of his career . . . and Brendan Fraser excels.
88
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
Chances are, the more you love classic cinema, the more you will find Gods is your cup of tea. Read full review
88
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
It has the most beautiful ending of any American film in years, a coda of reconciliation and remembrance set in a gentle L.A. rain. Read full review
80
VarietyDennis Harvey
Doesn’t always convince, particularly in the last lap. But it’s an engrossing, unusual, imaginatively executed bit of psychological gamesmanship nonetheless. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
Curiously, one of the film's stranger effects is that it's more convincing as a meditation on desire and Hollywood than as a biographical exploration. Read full review
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Eminently watchable thanks to strong performances from its three leads (McKellen, Redgrave, Fraser). Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Witty and beautifully textured. Read full review
80
The New York TimesElvis Mitchell
What especially elevates it is the razor-sharp cleverness of McKellen's performance, which brings unusual fullness and feeling to a most unusual man. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverDavid Ehrenstein
This chamber drama is a deeply felt and oddly moving reverie on death and the process of taking stock of one's life. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
There are so many colors to McKellen's performance, so many diverse emotions fleetingly play on his face, that resisting his art is out of the question. Better work by an actor will not be seen this year. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
So much of the credit must be laid at the feet of Ian McKellen, whose portrait of Whale is a study in acting excellence. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Gods and Monsters is not a deep or powerful film, but it is a good-hearted one. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
A rich, multi- layered portrait of a director from Hollywood's Golden Age whose own life was as interesting as any of his movies. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
An engaging character study full of lyrical images and strong performances. It's an exceedingly well-made film. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Although the film doesn't probe Whale's personality as deeply as it might, the acting is excellent and movie buffs will enjoy its behind-the-scenes references and nostalgic film clips. Read full review
70
Film.comTom Keogh
Beyond the fantastic contrivances of Gods and Monsters, these performances are startlingly human.
70
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
While McKellen's sharp performance provides the main attraction, the film wouldn't work without both Fraser, who brings something extra to a character who could easily have been a mere lunk, and director Bill Condon's careful integration of larger themes. Read full review
70
SalonJonathan Lethem
A showcase for a uniquely sympathetic virtuoso performance by legendary stage actor Ian McKellen in an otherwise minor film. Read full review
70
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
The relationship is touching, painful, revealing, and often funny, which is true of the film as a whole as well. Read full review
70
NewsweekAndrea C. Basora
Condon's obvious attempts to draw parallels between Whale's life and his work tend to be heavy-handed, and detract from an otherwise intriguing film. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
As a portrait of a deliciously eccentric individual, Gods and Monsters features a vivid performance from Ian McKellen that makes you think not of James Whale but of Ian McKellen. Read full review
55
TNT RoughCutBrian M. Raftery
There's a great movie to be made with this story.
50
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
Lynn Redgrave is nearly incomprehensible as the housekeeper with some sort of housekeeperly accent. [Dec. 14, 1998]
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
I'm too big a fan of director James Whale (1896-1957) to take a film about him lightly, and I'm afraid this speculative 1998 movie about his last days won't do. Read full review
30
SlateDavid Edelstein
Psychologically thin, artistically flabby, and symbolically opaque. Read full review
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