Simon Magus
Fireworks Pictures | Release Date: March 9, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
9
Negative:
2

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
An engaging character study, steeped in religion, demonology and community politics. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeLoren King
An odd but original, at times even poetic, film about a vanished world. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Poetic and ambiguous, it manages to be magical in both the beautiful and terrifying senses of the word. Read full review
68
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
An elegant, haunting folktale. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
For all it's warmth and wonder, it carries little more power than a storybook fable. Read full review
60
New Times (L.A.)Gregory Weinkauf
Like its namesake, this Simon Mágus is wise and elemental, sure to leave you pensive afterward. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleWesley Morris
The film has a persuasive murkiness and one extended mythopoetic final sequence that's almost moving in its silence. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Though the film ends on a surprising and genuinely magical note, it takes its own sweet time getting there; some viewers will have lost patience before the denouement arrives. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
This historical fantasy is too ambitious for its own good, but contains some striking imagery and likable performances. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The more I think about Simon Magus, the less I'm sure what it's trying to say. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
May be reasonably diverting, but the story never matches the movie's fantastic visual imagination. Read full review
40
Film.comRobert Horton
The brainchild of English director Ben Hopkins, who takes his time getting going. Too much time, really, as the first hour passes rather antsily, without quite achieving forward motion. Read full review
40
Village VoiceLeslie Camhi
Though Hopkins lovingly re-creates the surfaces of shtetl life, its deep spirituality seems to elude him. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyPaul Malcolm
Unfortunately, it's our knowledge of what's actually to come that puts much of the chill and complexity in Hopkins' rather formulaic script. Read full review
38
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Boring and irritating, and also mildly offensive in its ignorant depiction of both Judaism and Catholicism. Read full review
25
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Unfocused and shrill. Read full review
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