Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: May 8, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
84
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
21
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
The sunny, funny, toe-tapping Lagaan is the answer to those who ask why they don't make movies like they used to: They do, but in India. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Rippingly good, old-fashioned movie epic. Read full review
100
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
A movie that amply delivers on the epic promise of its title, entertaining, enlightening, and emboldening viewers with its deceptively simple premise and execution. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The unlikeliest enthralling movie to be released so far this year. Read full review
90
New Times (L.A.)Gregory Weinkauf
An inspiring effort, lavishly lensed and featuring a spicy (if occasionally synthy) score from A.R. Rahman. Best of all, it's also something of a musical, as the characters are not above breaking into song and dance to serve their emotions. Read full review
90
L.A. WeeklyF. X. Feeney
It works its magic with such exuberance and passion that the film's length becomes a part of its fun. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMonica Eng
Features colorful song-and-dance numbers that look and sound best in surround sound and on a huge screen. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
An enormously entertaining movie, like nothing we've ever seen before, and yet completely familiar. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Think of this corrective to Kipling as "The Longest Yard" meets "The Seven Samurai" with cricket bats, choreographed dance numbers, romantic triangles and a rousing call to solidarity. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
If you've never experienced a Bollywood musical before, seeing Lagaan will be like watching "Gone With the Wind" without ever having seen a Hollywood movie. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Gowariker's stunningly choreographed, four-hour spectacle (reportedly one of the most expensive films in the industry's history) is a fascinating mix of Hollywood genres and tropes. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Raises it to the level of an art film with fully drawn characters, a serious underlying theme, and a sophisticated style and point of view. Read full review
80
Film ThreatChris Baker
Not only the best I've ever seen, but also the Indian film that'd be most accessible to a Western audience. Read full review
80
VarietyDerek Elley
Neither pure masala musical nor pure masala meller, Lagaan is an involving, easily digestible hunk of pure entertainment that could be the trigger for Bollywood's long-awaited crossover to non-ethnic markets. Read full review
80
The New York TimesDave Kehr
Lagaan may look naïve; it is anything but. This is a movie that knows its business — pleasing a broad, popular audience -- and goes about it with savvy professionalism and genuine flair. Read full review
80
The A.V. ClubNoel Murray
By the time Lagaan climaxes with 90 minutes of remarkably riveting cricket, the stakes and the effects on the players have taken on a vivid clarity, and what might have started out as corny clichés have become the stuff of classic movie entertainment. Read full review
80
Village VoiceEd Halter
Confident and brash, Lagaan may be high-concept New Bollywood, but it plays like well-crafted Old Hollywood. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeAseem Chhabra
An epic film in every respect. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
A wild, self-indulgent but completely captivating extravagance. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderMark Peranson
Isn't as lavish or flashy as the typical Bollywood product, and cricket aside, there's little to distinguish the plotting and wide-screen visuals from more traditional Hollywood musicals--though few recent American musicals are this fluid or engaging. Read full review
63
New York PostJonathan Foreman
If you've never seen a "masala" musical, you may find Lagaan hilariously bad. Cartoony acting, dreadful dialogue, obvious dubbing, and meandering but ultrapredictable plots are simply part of the Bollywood package, along with six musical numbers and a bizarre mixture of romance, comedy and melodrama. Read full review
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