Michael Collins
Geffen Pictures | Release Date: October 11, 1996 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
7
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
This is an extremely cinematic, beautifully made David Lean-type epic, helped by fluid and involving camera work by two-time Oscar-winning ("The Killing Fields," "The Mission") cinematographer Chris Menges. Read full review
90
The A.V. ClubJohn Krewson
Liam Neeson's performance as Collins is at once stirring and blood-curdling, as befits the role of a man who murdered for a cause he believed was just, but was willing to stop when he believed his objective was reached. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Putting aside all the controversy, however, viewers are left with an expertly-directed and well-acted historical epic that disappoints only in its shallow perspective of the Irish/British and Irish/Irish conflicts. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyKen Tucker
For whatever reason, Michael Collins is a troublesome movie, a film about a religious war in which religion is almost entirely absent; a flick that gives us our kicks with thrillingly shot terroristic violence while paying lip service to pious antiviolence sentiments. Read full review
80
EmpireIan Nathan
Jordan has, though, made an important film, based on the wise predication that only through understanding can come peace. And if that sounds a bit pompous, it's also a damn good trip to the flicks. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie moves confidently when it focuses on Collins and his best friend and co-strategist Harry Boland (Aidan Quinn). But it falters with the unnecessary character of Kitty Kiernan (Julia Roberts), who is in love with both men, and they with her. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineStaff (not credited)
And while the film is unflinching in its depiction of the brutality of both the English and the Irish, Jordan pointedly dissociates his hero from any actual ugliness. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
The film itself works eagerly to emphasize the frankly entertaining aspects of its story. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
The strength of the movie resides mainly in the work of its cameraman, Chris Menges, who delivers a barrage of images as rousing and changeable as the fortunes of Collins himself. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
In old-fashioned movie terms, it's enjoyable, thanks mostly to Neeson who, not unlike Jeff Bridges, always eclipses your expectations of him. [25 Oct 1996, Pg.N.42]
67
Austin ChronicleAlison Macor
Neeson's performance as the legendary Irishman reminds us of how large a presence the actor is: He fills up the frame with his voice, his hands, and his gestures. Read full review
60
NewsweekDavid Ansen
The demands of the historical epic form seem to hobble Jordan's imagination. He's a director who's at his best when he can follow the dark logic of his own subconscious. Read full review
60
TimeRichard Schickel
There are pain and honor in this performance, and they constantly rise up to redeem a film that is less probing, less thoughtful than its director's claims and aspirations for it. Read full review
60
VarietyTodd McCarthy
It is unfortunate when such a difficult, ambitious film doesn't quite pay off after building up so much solid credit, but that is the case here. It is possible that the nature of the history under consideration is as responsible for this as any other single factor. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Stack
Viewers may feel let down because the depth promised by the movie's visual artistry is never quite delivered. Read full review
50
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
A filmmaker of Jordan's capability is not likely to make anything less than a competent, watchable movie, and that Michael Collins is. I think content rather than form detracts from the cogency of the finished product in this case. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Liam Neeson and Alan Rickman give sturdy performances, but Neil Jordan's historically based drama seems oddly cool and distant with regard to its incendiary subject. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
It isn't an unabashed movie-movie like the chest-thumping "Braveheart" or a cool, clinical semi-documentary like "The Battle of Algiers". There are elements of both here and they just don't dance. [11 Oct 1996, Pg.03.D]
20
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
An epic about the Irish patriot (Liam Neeson) during the last years of his life (1916-'22), it clearly represents a lot of thought on Jordan's part, yet it's dramatic and cinematic sludge. Read full review
10
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
For me, the execution of the picture is so weak, so imitative, so facile that it makes all the thematic discussion seem idle. [25 Nov 1996, Pg.30]
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