The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: September 21, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
11
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Although not as radically defamiliarizing as Jim Jarmusch's avant-western "Dead Man," Jesse James has the feel of an attic ransacked for abandoned knickknacks. Read full review
60
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Andrew Dominik's long and bizarre movie about the American outlaw appears to stick close enough to the facts so that historians won't be able to complain. But it languishes toward torpor. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
This fascinating relationship gets smothered in pointlessly long takes, repetitive scenes, grim Western landscapes and mumbled, heavily accented dialogue. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Mr. Pitt is himself a supernova luminary, of course, and part of the attraction of this film is how his celebrity feeds into that of his character, adding shadings to what is, finally, an overconceptualized if under-intellectualized endeavor. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
A film whose reach exceeds its grasp. Hugely ambitious and not without moments of success, this indulgent 2 hour and 40 minute epic ends up as unwieldy as its elongated title. It's a movie in love with itself, and few things are more fatal than that. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Maybe the life was edited out of it in the two years between shooting and release, or maybe Dominik was simply overwhelmed by the outsized myths of the West, but the film only comes to life after James' death, when Ford quite literally takes center stage. Read full review
50
SlateDana Stevens
The mere phrase "Brad Pitt as Jesse James" makes for a kind of mini-reflection on the evolution of celebrity culture. It's a shame that The Assassination of Jesse James never goes much deeper than that tag line. Read full review
50
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Represents a breakthrough in the moviegoing experience. It may be the first time we've been asked to watch a book on tape. Read full review
50
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
It is no mean feat to make a boring film about Jesse James, but Andrew Dominik has pulled it off in style. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
This revisionist western by writer-director Andrew Dominik makes a wan attempt to present the Jesse James legend as the dawn of celebrity culture in America. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
Ponderous, repetitive and lacking a single rousing action sequence. Read full review
More From This Movie

68 Critic Reviews

8.0 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 93 Nomadland
2 86 Judas and the Black Messiah
3 73 News of the World
4 72 Promising Young Woman
5 62 Land
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Instant Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
Best of 2018: Film Awards and Nominations
SEE ALL