Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: November 29, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
13
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesStephen HoldenNov 28, 2013
Mr. Elba’s towering performance lends “Long Walk to Freedom” a Shakespearean breadth. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyNov 29, 2013
Mandela is straightforward storytelling of a type that’s somewhat out of fashion, but ultimately no less stirring for it. Read full review
80
The TelegraphDavid GrittenNov 26, 2013
With the magnificent Elba to anchor it, the film gradually achieves a sort of grandeur, in the manner of the hero it depicts. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleDec 25, 2013
Elba's performance is commanding and physically meticulous. As he ages through the film, he takes on the stiff gracefulness of the elderly Mandela, so familiar to us from news footage. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianMarc MohanDec 24, 2013
British-born director Justin Chadwick might not seem the most logical choice to bring Mandela’s life to the screen, but he handles the historical sweep and the intimate moments with equal steadiness. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaDec 24, 2013
A conventional biopic made anything but conventional by the magnitude of its subject's life and accomplishments, and by Idris Elba's imposing performance in the title role. Read full review
75
Washington PostStephanie MerryDec 24, 2013
It can feel, at times, both overlong and oversimplified, but the story propels itself along while awakening in viewers some profound emotions. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperDec 24, 2013
Elba captures the fire and the passion of Mandela the young activist, the resilience of Mandela the political prisoner, and the wisdom and astonishing capacity of forgiveness of Mandela the elder statesman. Read full review
75
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreDec 18, 2013
Looming large above this “Long Walk” is Elba, in a mostly still performance, one of quietly compelling authority that dominates every moment. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranNov 27, 2013
It is the incendiary work of British actors Idris Elba and Naomie Harris as the couple in question that elevates our involvement in this authorized film version of Nelson Mandela's autobiography. Read full review
67
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanDec 28, 2013
He decided early on what he wanted and pursued it straightforwardly all his life. That rarely yields riveting drama, however well-intentioned filmmakers may be. Read full review
67
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallDec 25, 2013
It's a valuable history lesson crammed into a creatively uninspired movie. Wiki-cinema, if you will. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyNov 26, 2013
All of the highlights are dutifully hit, as in a made-for-TV movie (albeit a lavish, gorgeously photographed one). Unfortunately, they're hit with a sledgehammer. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsDec 25, 2013
A good and necessary film, but like the man himself it’s not immune to scrutiny. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie OgleDec 24, 2013
A better primer-for-the-uninitiated than an in-depth, fresh and insightful examination of a famous and remarkable life. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigNov 29, 2013
Sometimes it's the most remarkable and heroic figures whom movies can't seem to get right. Such is the case with Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, a biopic that is more dutiful than illuminating. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter TraversNov 27, 2013
A long slog of a movie that insists on hitting the high spots like a Wiki page, which leaves little room to investigate the political and personal changes that altered Mandela's thoughts about violence and its uses. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle SmithNov 26, 2013
Provides a different take on its subject than many of us are accustomed to: Nelson Mandela is no Martin Luther King Jr., and he was far more radical than even Malcolm X. If you’re under the impression that his ideas got him imprisoned for 25 years, think again: It was his bombs. Read full review
60
EmpireAngie ErrigoDec 30, 2013
It’s vivid, substantial and works hard to be worthy, but as it ticks off the milestones of a monumental life it flickers more often than it really catches fire. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghDec 24, 2013
The intentions are noble, but the film’s eagerness to honor Mandela instead shortchanges him. Mandela was a man who broke the mold; “Mandela” is a film content to nestle very neatly into it. Read full review
60
Time OutDave CalhounNov 26, 2013
Bold performance or not, you can see history weighing heavily on Elba’s shoulders (in later scenes as an older man, you can see the makeup, too). Read full review
55
NPRMark JenkinsDec 2, 2013
The film was shot entirely in South Africa, and revels in golden light on dry yellow grasslands. But it's still a very British movie, a respectful view from a suitable distance. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrDec 25, 2013
The movie is extremely well produced, it features two excellent lead performances, and it is dull. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyDec 25, 2013
Unfortunately, this reverent and old-fashioned biopic is a prime example of the kind of inspirational movie that is, itself, uninspired. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenDec 18, 2013
It’s too bad, then, that Justin Chadwick’s film does not offer a more substantial portrait of the man, whose passing is a fresh wound to mourners and curious onlookers worldwide. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Nov 29, 2013
Were Mandela solely interested in that early chapter of its subject’s life, when he was reluctantly turning to violent tactics in the war on apartheid, the film might have achieved a uniquely complicated perspective. Alas, the first passage is just a portion of what turns out to be a typically sprawling, bloated biopic. Read full review
50
Village VoiceMichelle OrangeNov 26, 2013
"Mandela" is not without the capacity to move. Read full review
50
VarietyScott FoundasNov 26, 2013
For all its failings, there is one thing about “Long Walk to Freedom” that can’t be denied: Idris Elba gives a towering performance, a Mandela for the ages. Read full review
40
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottDec 24, 2013
One only wishes they were able to deliver these performances in a movie that felt more like a true celebration of Mandela's life -- and less like homework. Read full review
40
Film.comJordan HoffmanNov 29, 2013
He spent 28 years in prison and this is what he gets? Read full review
40
The DissolveScott TobiasNov 26, 2013
As a lesson in how not to make a historical biopic, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom proves remarkably complete: It’s a dull, glossy, uncomplicated portrait of a man whose personal and political legacy is marked by serene idealism and shrewd calculation. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerNov 23, 2013
A cursory history lesson with no interest in probing the deeper or more complex implications of Mandela's positions and their relationship to his country's shifting landscape. Read full review
More From This Movie

60 Critic Reviews

5.7 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 72 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL