Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Mar 7, 2023 3/4

The film is worth seeking out for Shepard and Rea’s performances.

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Jordan M. Smith IONCINEMA.com Nov 19, 2020

It is an enjoyable western set within a non-traditional location that helps breathe new life into a genre that's long been on life support.

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Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com Jun 27, 2019 2/5

While the Bolivian landscape is certainly a sight to behold, Blackthorn feels like a cheap attempt at invigorating interest by exploiting a classic film character.

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Joseph Walsh CineVue Aug 23, 2018 3/5

Shepard gives an extremely moving performance as Cassidy/Blackthorn, expertly balancing the traditional romanticism of life in the Old West... with a believable portrayal of an old man yearning to return home.

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Will Leitch Deadspin Jun 22, 2013 B-

It's a perfect part for Shepard, and "Blackthorn" provides considerable pleasure just in watching him ride a horse and bark around.

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Stanley Kauffmann The New Republic Jun 19, 2013

This story, parboiled out of one of the most memorable Westerns, is supported all the way by Gil's directing.

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Andy Lea Daily Star (UK) Mar 14, 2013 4/5

With Paul Newman no longer with us, no other actor could have fitted so snugly into the legendary outlaw's old boots.

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Andrew L. Urban Urban Cinefile Jun 18, 2012

Sam Shepard delivers a terrific, dry performance as the older Butch Cassidy, his stoic view of life honed by years of reflection and self realisation. It's a well written screenplay and director Mateo Gil makes the most of it

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Louise Keller Urban Cinefile Jun 18, 2012

Embodied effectively by a craggy Sam Shepard, it is not the physicality of Shepard that convinces us of his identity, but his character and the morals by which he lives

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Philip French Observer (UK) Apr 14, 2012

Offers a fascinating imaginary sequel to the story of Butch and Sundance.

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John A. Riley Electric Sheep Apr 13, 2012

A Western in possession of a social conscience, but without lapsing into preaching or patronising, this is an unassuming film in some ways, but ultimately it's self-assured, elegiac and sometimes strikingly beautiful.

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Allan Hunter Daily Express (UK) Apr 13, 2012 3/5

A leisurely, elegiac production that needed a sharper focus.

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Mark Adams Daily Mirror (UK) Apr 12, 2012 3/5

A subtle film that balances drama with gunplay.

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Grant Rollings The Sun (UK) Apr 12, 2012 3/5

While Shepard is a classically, charming and grizzled Western anti-hero, his co-star Eduardo Noriega, above, makes for a stiff sidekick.

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Andrew Pulver Guardian Apr 12, 2012 2/5

Blackthorn is a handsomely mounted film, with many an awesome vista and rolling plain, but compared to the quicksilver brilliance of its predecessors, it comes off as irredeemably minor.

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Liam Maguren Flicks (AU, NZ, UK) Apr 12, 2012 2/5

Nothing more than a passable Western that makes you long for something memorable.

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David Aldridge Radio Times Apr 12, 2012 3/5

With westerns rarer than hen's teeth, and decent westerns even rarer, this is certainly one that genre fans should seek out.

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Antonia Quirke Financial Times Apr 12, 2012 3/5

It feels as unique as the way the ageing Shepard's eyes appear weirdly independent of the rest of him. He's a bird of prey gazing through the holes in a crumbling wall.

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Adam Lee Davies Little White Lies Apr 12, 2012 3/5

Lonesome Dove with a dash of My Name is Nobody and a side of Ride the High Country, but Shepard, Noriega and the exotic Bolivian locations mark Blackthorn out as a notable entry.

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Tim Evans Sky Cinema Apr 11, 2012 3/5

What really grabs the attention are cinematographer JA Ruiz Anchia's staggeringly beautiful Bolivian vistas, the riotously colourful backdrop against which Blackthorn tries to outrun his pursuers.

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