Brokedown Palace
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment | Release Date: August 13, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
44
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
10
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
Brokedown Palace does have some plot implausibilities but Kaplan, manages to turn some hashed story lines into something substantial and emotionally affecting. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The heart of the film is in the performances of Danes and Beckinsale after they're sent to prison. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
It's close to a no-win situation dramatically, culturally and politically, and Kaplan deals with it plausibly enough by concentrating on the performances and the interior conflicts they reveal. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Brokedown Palace is good enough so that you wish it were better. Read full review
70
NewsweekLaura Shin
The plotting could use some finessing, but fine acting makes this film worthwhile. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyJoshua Rich
It's strangely enjoyable to see her(Danes) and Beckinsale busted on a bogus heroin-smuggling rap and thrown in the slammer with bad 'dos and no makeup. Read full review
60
Washington PostDesson Thomson
This is not a fantastic movie. But there's more to it than just an MTV-slickified "Midnight Express" starring two young, photogenic stars. Read full review
50
SalonStephanie Zacharek
The penalties for drug trafficking in Thailand are very, very stiff. If there were any justice in the world, the penalties for saddling fine actors with terrible dialogue would be even stiffer. Read full review
50
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
Its finest moments come in sequences such as Alice and Darlene's prison break and the girls' final wrenching plea for freedom. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
We're stuck with contrived plot contortions, dull interpersonal interaction, and unconvincing dialogue. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
The specifics of their predicament are well handled -- being thrown in a Third World prison may be every tourist's nightmare -- even if the movie eventually goes soft and squishy. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
This is the kind of picture that is faux subtle when it should be bold, and really ham-handed when it should be delicate. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Overall it's a colorful, diverting cautionary tale. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneBarbara Shulgasser
The movie, directed by veteran Jonathan Kaplan, has enough in common with such American-in-foreign-jail movies as "Midnight Express" and the recent "Return to Paradise" to make you wonder why it ever got made. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Just another lurid, contrived, xenophobic tale about Americans trapped in hideous foreign prisons. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Director Jonathan Kaplan clearly has a feel for the material, but he's at the mercy of a pedestrian script by David Arata and producer Adam Fields. Read full review
30
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
Part cautionary tale, part moral-uplift saga, Brokedown Palace is as dull as it's absurd. Read full review
30
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
The once-reliable Danes is a particular detriment, but it's really hard to care whether either character escapes from what looks like a really unappealing summer camp. Read full review
30
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
An exploitation flick, but without the thrills or cleavage. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Kaplan's lustily awful film is to be avoided if at all possible, and if not, well, don't say I didn't warn you. Read full review
20
Film ThreatRon Wells
The best thing about a movie like this is I never have to see it again. Read full review
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