Matt Brunson Film Frenzy May 28, 2025 3/4

Lee may have chosen to relate a tale about the Civil War from the POV of the South (always an irksome angle), but it’s made clear that his loyalties rest not with either side of the cause.

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David Lamble Bay Area Reporter Jun 12, 2020

The acting gem in this two-and-a-half-hour epic is the hair-raising rivalry between Maguire and a feral young killer.

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Joe Leydon The Moving Picture Show Jul 19, 2014

Like too many other young men in too many other wars, Maguire's Jake Roedel sees too much, and grows up too fast.

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Mel Valentin eFilmCritic.com Jan 3, 2011 4/5

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Christopher Long Movie Metropolis May 1, 2010 7/10

The Lawrence massacre provides no catharsis, only a sense of despair at the state of the human condition and at young men turned psychopaths.

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James Kendrick Q Network Film Desk Apr 26, 2010 2.5/4

the main characters, despite their various complexities, are never particularly compelling and therefore fail to draw us into (or help us make sense of) the film's abstract themes

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Sean Axmaker Seanax.com Apr 26, 2010

Bucolic scenes of men at rest in beautiful wild landscapes and families gathered over meals in manors and homesteads are shattered by battles...

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Michael Dequina TheMovieReport.com Oct 21, 2007 2/4

'It ain't right; it ain't wrong; it just is.' That line, in a nutshell, pretty much sums up Ride with the Devil.

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Jeffrey Overstreet JeffreyOverstreet.com (Ghost.io) Jan 15, 2005 A

This isn't the usual Civil War tale of learning to respect a man regardless of his race.... It's about how true freedom comes from love, from respect, and from self-sacrifice.

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Louis B. Hobson Jam! Movies Jun 23, 2004 4/5

Lee is a master storyteller.

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Randall King Jam! Movies Jun 23, 2004 4/5

Sustains a standard of realism that can induce extraordinary tension.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Jun 18, 2003 1/4

Does for Civil War movies what 1991's Mobsters did for gangster movies.

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Jeff Strickler Minneapolis Star Tribune Nov 6, 2002 1/4

Lee appears to have been torn between making a character study and an action movie, so both elements get short shrift.

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Brent Simon Entertainment Today Sep 6, 2002 C-

Lacking the charisma of a truly great film... Ride with the Devil manages to succeed more in principle than it does in the moment.

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Paula Nechak Seattle Post-Intelligencer Apr 3, 2002 B-

Lee has cast his film with the cream of rising actors.

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Rick Groen Globe and Mail Mar 22, 2002 3/4

The intriguing (if not always successful) result is an oddly contemplative picture about a horribly bellicose time.

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Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice Mar 4, 2002

This rip-roaring adventure story presents a little known slice of Civil War history,

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Stephen Farber Movieline Jan 9, 2002

There's absolutely no emotional or sexual heat between Maguire and Jewel; they seem like kids playacting at grand passion.

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Christabel Padmore Apollo Guide Jul 24, 2001 67/100

Neither outstandingly good, nor bad. It's a reliable choice for the historical action keener.

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Peter Matthews Sight & Sound Apr 17, 2001

While the movie intermittently revs up for some showy combat scenes, its real mtier is a texture of fine-grained observation that brings history to life on the molecular level.

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