The Emperor's Club
Universal Pictures | Release Date: November 22, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
13
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Would be a much better film had it not relied so heavily on a bombastic soundtrack (by James Newton Howard) for its emotional impact and spared itself some of the more overdone images of campus life. Read full review
25
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The Emperor's Club is a beautiful fraud -- as gracefully proportioned as a Christopher Wren academy, yet as devoid of content as a prep-school promo film. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
That uncertainty -- in the professor, in the audience -- is what drives Emperor's Club to a surprisingly thought-provoking, even disturbing conclusion. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Like the story, Kline builds in intensity: He has no flowery speeches that would be untrue to his character, but he leaves a clear impression of a man who values knowledge and the imparting of it above all else. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderHank Sartin
The film wobbles between impulses to be a simple feel-good story and a trickier, ultimately sadder tale about a man facing a moral and spiritual crisis. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Kevin Kline's performance shows a deep understanding of the character, who is, after all, better than most teachers, and most men. We care for him, not because he is perfect, but because he regrets so sincerely that he is not. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
It's an extraordinary performance in an often brave and intelligent film that, unfortunately, tends to collapse around him in the end -- just as the world of Kline's character, tweedy but likable William Hundert, deconstructs around him. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
At a time when much public education is in a state of perilous decay, one wonders whether this sentimental ode to old-school dignity and privilege is in touch with today's pressing realities. Read full review
40
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
Emperor gives off a distinctly musty odor -- not least because Kline's character. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
A traditionally dressed, old-fashioned drama, starring Kevin Kline in the Robin Williams role -- is as much about the moral development of the adult as about his boys'. More so, maybe. Read full review
60
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
This likable but utterly conventional movie works harder than is necessary to unpack for us Ethan Canin’s short story "The Palace Thief." Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
It's well crafted by director Michael Hoffman, not painful to sit through, and even contains some 21st century plot twists -- But unless you have a predisposition toward this kind of thing, none of that is going to matter much. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
More than just another feel-good teacher movie. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
The ethical issues driving Michael Hoffman's The Emperor's Club almost outweigh the improbable arc of its story, and Kevin Kline's endearing performance as a prep school classics teacher is almost worth the price of admission. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
Kline's divine -- alas, the film isn't. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Don't blame Kline. This most thoughtful of actors is trapped behind the lectern of a film that spouts contradictory lessons it can't reconcile. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
But with a potentially fascinating study of ethics, of how cheating rich boys become cheating rich men while humble souls do more good in the world, The Emperor's Club doesn't take the audience anywhere smart. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
There's still quite a bit of the essence of "Dead Poets Society" in The Emperor's Club. Thankfully, however, the level of schmaltz and manipulation has been greatly reduced. Read full review
25
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Director Michael Hoffman sprays on the tears like a toxic mist. Avoid like the plague. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
A substantial examination of character, morality and destiny. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Really two movies working against each other. One is a feel-good movie -- But the more intriguing movie is a tragedy that studies the subtle but long-lasting impact of the teacher's single moral lapse. Read full review
40
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
The film is an old-fashioned morality play writ extra-large, applying a heavy, austere tone to a sequence of events that can't bear the load. The burden falls mostly on Kevin Kline, who trades in his lithe, expressive comedic gifts for a dramatic role that fits him like a straitjacket and a pair of lead shoes. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Turns a blind eye to the very history it pretends to teach. Read full review
50
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Carefully sets itself up as an obvious, transparent morality play, and then just as deliberately refuses the easy payoff. This is both impressive and a little disingenuous: the film is in effect congratulating itself for refusing to offer a neat and tidy view of life without offering much else. Read full review
30
TimeRichard Corliss
May leave viewers emotionally disconnected from this distinctly unchipper Mr. Chips. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
It's refreshing that there's any moral at all, and that despite its warm and fuzzy trappings, the film floats actual ideas and sprinkles serious questions of ethics and morality atop the usual Hollywood syrup. Read full review
63
USA TodayMike Clark
Though the plot ends up taking some potentially compelling twists, its telling always feels manipulative. Read full review
50
VarietyRobert Koehler
A rather stodgily directed pic by Michael Hoffman which extols the virtues of Greek and Roman thinking in the guise of Kevin Kline's classics teacher. Read full review
50
Village VoiceEd Park
Club's inability to moralize saves it from kitsch. Read full review
20
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
A movie's script is its fate, which means this one is doomed.
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
This isn't a stand up and cheer flick; it's a sit down and ponder affair. And thanks to Kline's superbly nuanced performance, that pondering is highly pleasurable. Read full review
20
Washington PostStephen Hunter
It's a simpering, ineffective ersatz-drama, so simple-minded and unrealistic and so full of fussy stupidity, it exiles you. Read full review
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