Amie Simon Three Imaginary Girls Mar 7, 2019

... something about The Tempest just didn't work for me. When I see Taymor's name on a film I'm expecting something grand and beautifully fantastic, and this just fell a little flat.

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PJ Nabarro Patrick Nabarro Dec 2, 2018 2/5

With the exception of Ben Whishaw - who with the help of some imaginative CGI and his own beautiful verse-speaking - the rest of the actors mouth the lines without much élan.

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Sean Burns Philadelphia Weekly May 3, 2015

Julie Taymor has a theatre director's idea of how movies work. That's not a compliment.

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Violet Lucca Film Comment Magazine Jun 28, 2013

Dispensing with tableau compositions, this adaptation feels liberated from static theatrical and, to a lesser degree, cinematic convention by the overall openness of its staging and camerawork that's somewhere between handheld and Steadicam.

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Anthony Quinn Independent (UK) Jan 22, 2013 2/5

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Robin Clifford Reeling Reviews Jan 22, 2013 C-

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James Plath Movie Metropolis Dec 29, 2011 6/10

There are two reasons to watch The Tempest: if you're a fan of Shakespeare, or a fan of Helen Mirren.

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Kevin Carr 7M Pictures Sep 28, 2011 3/5

Hundreds of years ago, Shakespeare would have never imagined this story could look like Taymor's vision.

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Peter Canavese Groucho Reviews Sep 20, 2011 2.5/4

Taymor tries a little too hard, neither breaking nor broken by the play, but ultimately losing the wrestling match. [Blu-ray]

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Grae Drake Movies.com Apr 29, 2011 2/5

Taymor excels at creating visuals that are so beautiful you want to hang every frame on your wall, but content-wise this film falls really flat.

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Sandra Hall Sydney Morning Herald Apr 20, 2011 4/5

The film has plenty of detractors who see Taymor's approach as strained and overwrought, but Mirren finds some grace notes that no Prospero could ever have sounded.

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Cara Nash FILMINK (Australia) Apr 20, 2011

While this had the potential to be a stirring cinematic experience, director Julie Taymor's trademark innovation and visual flair never soars.

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Dave White Movies.com Apr 4, 2011 2.5/5

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Sam Bathe Fan The Fire Mar 23, 2011 1/5

Shakespeare is spinning in his grave.

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Mike Edwards What Culture Mar 13, 2011 2/5

As a re-imagining, particularly by a director so well renowned, The Tempest is depressingly pedestrian.

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MaryAnn Johanson Flick Filosopher Mar 7, 2011

[M]essy but thrilling... [B]rings a new perspective on the play, and a new appreciation for it, which is the best we can ask for the umpteenth adaptation of a centuries-old work...

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Allan Hunter Daily Express (UK) Mar 7, 2011 2/5

A noble stab at the Bard but ultimately an unsatisfactory film.

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Philip French Guardian Mar 7, 2011

The special effects are intrusive and anything but magical and the text is rather curiously edited. But it's worth seeing for Mirren.

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Sophie Ivan Film4 Mar 7, 2011 1.5/5

Despite the best efforts of an impressive cast, Taymor's adaptation ends up a curious mix of arse-achingly dull, and clangingly misjudged.

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Robbie Collin News of the World Mar 5, 2011 1/5

Lost for a***holes.

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