Empire's Scores

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For 6,820 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 54% higher than the average critic
  • 3% same as the average critic
  • 43% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 0.7 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 66
Highest review score: 100 Oppenheimer
Lowest review score: 20 Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,008 out of 6820
  2. Mixed: 3,654 out of 6820
  3. Negative: 158 out of 6820
6820 movie reviews
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  1. The Post
    It has a decent story, Hanks and Streep are two compelling leads, and Spielberg is laughably over-qualified to direct it, but it’s neither as thrilling as All The President’s Men, nor does it have the emotional heft of Spotlight. But there’s no shame coming second best to those two titans of the genre. On its own considerable merits, The Post is first class.
  2. To All the Boys: Always and Forever
    Lara Jean and Peter grow up convincingly in a well-handled conclusion to Netflix’s hit trilogy, with a heart as generous as its charming central heroine.
    • 56 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Falling Down
    While the morality of D-Fens methods are questionable, there's a resonance about his reaction to everyday annoyances, and Michael Douglas' hypnotic performance makes it memorable.
  4. The Favourite
    Weird, dirty but accessible, The Favourite is a perfectly performed, thrillingly made period picture that morphs before your very eyes. Come for the top-drawer hi-jinx; stay for a moving look at human foibles and frailties.
  5. Jeremiah Johnson
    Pollack does right to put his faith in one man and a whole lot of mountains. The result is impressive.
    • 76 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Ghost in the Shell
    From its baddie-eviscerating opening sequence through innumerable car chases, shoot outs and tongue-in-cheek dialogue exchanges, this is exactly the kind of film that James Cameron would make if they ever let him through the Disney front gates.
  7. Shazam!
    The hardest power to depict onscreen is the wisdom of Solomon, but Shazam! makes clever decisions, mixing middle school snark with disarming sweetness. And — yes — it delivers the requisite lightning-strike punch-’em-ups with considerable force.
  8. Vox Lux
    Even if it doesn’t quite go beyond the bubblegum, Corbet’s fusion of A Star Is Born melodramatics with art-house stylings is cold, raw, dark filmmaking. And Portman, like her quiff, is an acquired taste but immense.
  9. Independence Day
    Like 2001, Star Wars and Jurassic Park, it ups the special effects stakes and gets closer to putting on screen the images you've had in your mind while reading epic sci-fi.
    • 85 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Ilo Ilo
    Not all magically benevolent nannies fly on talking umbrellas, as we learn in this beautifully formed little heart-tugger.
  11. River's Edge
    A disquieting tale set in the grim realities of trashy America. Some great, often insane performances make it a memorable trip.
  12. Hell or High Water
    Taut, tense and burnished by Jeff Bridges at his best. This is a deceptively simple tale of Texan cops and robbers that drags the Old West into the modern age.
  13. Oasis: Supersonic
    The story of Britpop’s iconic band at its peak is told with wit, honesty and swagger. Which, given its two leads, is entirely fitting.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Maurice
    Rich in atmosphere, its leisurely pace dwells on repressed passions in Edwardian society.
  15. Wall Street
    As with Platoon, Stone captures the horrific essence of an environment and transfers it to us without the need for prior knowledge. Dazzling filmmaking.
  16. The Danish Girl
    Redmayne’s transformation may grab the headlines but it is Vikander’s touching turn that steals the show. Sedate, certainly, but The Danish Girl is touching, timely and exquisite.
  17. Persepolis
    The monochrome animation is stark and beautiful, and Marjane’s an appealing narrator. Often hilarious, sometimes tragic, this may be low-tech, but it’s high-class.
  18. Dallas Buyers Club
    Get this — Matthew McConaughey is currently the most exciting acting talent at work in movies. Next up, the simple business of a Christopher Nolan.
  19. Havoc
    Unsurprisingly, HAVOC is at its best when we’re plunged into wall-to-wall carnage. It may not be for the faint-hearted, but this fist-flinging fever-dream sees Evans back near the top of his game.
  20. Midnight Special
    Nichols mounts impressive visual effects and frantic bursts of action.... But the film’s strength is in its humanity rather than its super-humanity.
  21. The Phoenician Scheme
    This is textbook Wes Anderson without falling back on old tricks. The rich world of The Phoenician Scheme can be a lot to take in, but what a view it is.
  22. Bugsy Malone
    The songs and set pieces are still fresh and infectious and most of the child cast are mesmerisingly good. I defy anyone not to be caught up in the charm and nostalgia.
  23. Anthropoid
    A compelling and moving interpretation of a largely forgotten moment in European history.
  24. Renfield
    A dark action-comedy rather than a spooky gothic picture, Renfield is pitched to please long-time Dracula fans while reminding new generations that this Count was the first and arguably best monster villain in Hollywood horror history.
    • 80 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Queen of Versailles
    A bizarre and mesmerising journey to the heart of Cloud Cuckoo Land.
  26. Crank
    A Saw for the action crowd, this is an intense, stripped-down ride that goes places you’d never expect. Edgy and outrageous, it should get the fearless Statham some deserved attention.
  27. Hope Springs
    Very funny, it's also penetrating on the ravages of time on love and marriage and sweetly touching, but with abundantly incongruous randy content to heartily amuse.
  28. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
    This one’s an endlessly thrilling, continuously propulsive beast, tense from the start: even the quieter, conversational scenes have you on edge. Mission, once again, accomplished.
    • 71 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Way He Looks
    Touching and well-acted, Brazil's Best Foreign Film entry is a worthy Oscar candidate.
  30. The Personal History of David Copperfield
    A breezy, brilliant treat. Iannucci may have softened the bite of his comedy but replaces it with something remarkably optimistic and buoyant, telling a story as joyously relevant as it was a century-and-a-half ago.
  31. Better Man
    The most batshit music biopic since Todd Haynes did the Karen Carpenter story with Barbie dolls, Michael Gracey pulls off the biggest cinematic surprise of the year. An absolute blast. 
  32. My Kid Could Paint That
    A highly engaging documentary that recounts a remarkable tale. Young Marla is clearly talented, but so too is her father…
  33. Buried
    A brutally intense indie that commits to its bleak premise and doesn't back down. Tarantino will cackle as he watches.
  34. Censor
    A psychedelic rabbit-hole-drop of a movie from one of the most exciting new directors working in horror today.
  35. The Candidate
    With Redford giving one of his best comedic performances, helped by a Oscar winning script, The Candidate is witty and charming, while looking good and proving quite memorable, like Redford's lawyer.
  36. West
    Triebel is an outstanding presence in this slow-burning thriller, which continues to smoulder long after the credits roll.
    • 88 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Life Is Sweet
    Leigh has the skill to inspire with the everyday.
  38. The Blue Room
    Taut, tense and teasing, this fascinating exercise in screen storytelling keeps viewers guessing whether the prime suspect might just be a victim.
    • 79 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Twinless
    A cute, warm-hearted indie darling this is not. Twinless is an uncomfortable, pitch-black comedy you won’t be able to look away from, with a career-best performance from Dylan O’Brien.
  40. Assassination Nation
    Like a real-life stroppy teen, Assassination Nation is pissed off with something new every five minutes — but there’s style and sophistication here. The Trump era has its first dorm-room classic.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Mississippi Masala
    Nair has made a truthful film about race which avoids hatred. It leaves a joyously hopeful taste.
  42. Ocean's Thirteen
    You can beat the house and you can break the bank, but sequels always get long odds on defeating the law of diminishing returns – yet Ocean's Thirteen just about pulls it off.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    I'm Not There.
    An extraordinary attempt to encapsulate the many faces of Bob Dylan that plays better to the convert than the sceptic. Like the nasal twang of the man in question, the film finally beguiles more than it irritates.
  44. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
    A tough, post-punk Tintin-meets-Klute for the Occupy Wall Street set, this kinetic, hard-edged thriller is the perfect festive comedown for Fincher fans and dysfunctional families everywhere.
  45. Maiden
    Instructive, insightful and inspiring, Maiden is a rousingly riveting record of a remarkable accomplishment that says as much about British bloody-mindedness as it does about feminist fortitude and underdog pluck.
  46. Revolutionary Road
    Handsomely done and beautifully acted, just slightly wanting in a screenplay that leaves questions unanswered about what's behind these unhappy people. And it's ultra-depressing...
  47. Pig
    Quiet, unforced and delicate, Pig provides a forum for Nicolas Cage, one of our most dazzling showmen, to get serious and burrow more deeply into his talent than he has in years.
  48. The Lincoln Lawyer
    A solid thriller with McConaughey doing what he does best.
  49. Blackfish
    Impassioned and disturbing, this documentary matches "The Cove" for marrying cool intellect with real fire.
  50. The Moment
    A wry, sharp and never self-serious take on pop stardom.
  51. All the Old Knives
    A smart, compelling, pared-down thriller for grown-ups, anchored by a pair of stunningly charming performances from Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton.
  52. Near Dark
    There are no gothic extravagances in Kathryn Bigelow's bone-dry, style-rich, noir-steeped vampire western. Instead it comprises a fascinatingly modern take on blood sucking mythology, shedding tradition to examine the creatures as human counterparts.
  53. A Real Pain
    It may be formally unadventurous but A Real Pain is a real treat, a tender, funny treatise on family jealousies and our relationship to the past. Simultaneously light and heavy, it soars on the stellar pairing of Eisenberg and Culkin.
  54. Ex Machina
    Stylish, elegant, tense, cerebral, satirical and creepy. Garland’s directorial debut is his best work yet, while Vikander’s bold performance will short your circuits.
  55. Kill Bill: Vol. 1
    There is much to admire in Vol. 1, not least a performance from Uma Thurman as steely as the plate in her character’s head and a knowing soundtrack that effortlessly smears the boundaries between east and west.
  56. Shattered Glass
    Gripping, claustrophobic drama.
  57. Twilight
    A sometimes girlie swirl of obsession that will delight fans, this faithful adaptation is after teenage blood, and will most likely hit a box office artery.
  58. Since Otar Left
    The relationship between Ada and Eka is beautifully written and utterly believable, while the film's central idea of compassionate deception allows Bertucelli to explore the nature of love, culminating in the film's masterful and deeply affecting ending.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Funny Pages
    Owen Kline’s debut is a hectic portrait of a volatile artist, swirling in a thick, uneasy atmosphere. Whilst there’s not much emotion to cling on to, the parade of uniquely absurd characters and agonising situations make it a real page turner.
  60. The Terminal
    Far less cuddly than expected, this unusual and elegant movie may have failed to connect with US audiences but it proves Spielberg is currently the most unpredictable director in Hollywood.
  61. Compartment No. 6
    This unconventional love story — which plays like a Richard Linklater film set in the Arctic circle — is a total charmer, and will have you reaching for an Interrail ticket immediately afterwards.
  62. Dragonslayer
    An unknown treasure of a fantasy film and well worth a look for fans of the genre.
  63. Stripes
    Murray's initial transition from the small screen is a classic.
  64. Sunrise
    Imaginative and surprisingly moving for a silent art movie.
  65. The Childhood of a Leader
    The ending doesn’t quite land, but this timely right-wing allegory promises there’s much more to come from Corbet.
  66. Bound for Glory
    With Haskell Wexler's splendid photography and Leonard Rosenman's fine score, the film provides a poetic yet authentic view of Depression-era America with the symbolic figure of Guthrie (an impressive David Carradine) at its very centre.
  67. Sausage Party
    It sounded like the dumbest movie of all time, but it’s actually smart, subversive and packed with famous voices saying wonderfully unspeakable things. In fact, it’s a banger.
  68. Chan Is Missing
    What matters is the affection Wang has for his characters and the portrait of assimilation represented by the characters the amateur sleuths encounter. Whimsical, certainly, but also generous, insightful and funny.
  69. Frances Ha
    Although the monochrome photography will invite comparisons with Manhattan, Frances Ha is closer in spirit to Godard than Woody Allen. Anchored by a charming performance from Greta Gerwig, it’s as light and breezy as a walk in Central Park, and just as refreshing.
  70. Moebius
    Even Oedipus would be left scratching his head by this bonkers but drily funny tale of one family's forlorn search for normality.
  71. Nightmare Alley
    A rare del Toro film that’s not an outright spook show, Nightmare Alley isn’t quite the filmmaker’s best — but it’s not far off, boasting an enveloping atmosphere, compelling characters, and gorgeous filmmaking.
  72. Anna Karenina
    If it doesn't ultimately engage your heart as it might, Anna Karenina is period drama at its most exciting, intoxicating and modern. Spellbinding.
  73. Robin Hood
    Foxes with bows and arrows..what could be better than that?
    • 89 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Madness of King George
    An excellent debut from director Hytner. The real treat, though, is Hawthorne who, whether lecturing his family on regal responsibility or taking a dump in front of the PM, gives what is undoubtedly the performance of his career.
    • 93 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    All We Imagine as Light
    Writer/director Payal Kapadia delivers a memorable and compassionate slice-of-life drama, making a clear statement about the constraints faced by working-class women in India.  
  76. Rise of the Guardians
    It's gorgeously designed, deftly written and frequently laugh-out-loud funny. For child or adult, this is a fantasy to get lost in.
  77. Burning
    Slow and difficult to get a hold on, Burning emerges as a brilliantly made one-off; puzzling, intelligent and ultimately mesmerising. And Jong-seo Jun is a revelation.
  78. Half Moon
    An unflinching and affecting depiction of the region’s tragic lunacies.
  79. Black Panther
    Like Taika Waititi before him, Ryan Coogler gives the Marvel template a bold auteurist twist with an African extravaganza that packs a muscular intensity and challenges as much as it exhilarates.
  80. Quantum of Solace
    As with "The Dark Knight," the only real caveat is that while it's exciting and imaginative, it's not exactly anyone's idea of fun. To keep in the game, perhaps the next movie could let the hero enjoy himself a bit more.
  81. A Most Violent Year
    Stylish, sophisticated, simmering crime and character drama with Shakespearean dimension and bravura performances. Who knew heating oil could be a sexy subject?
  82. Gomorrah
    A sombre, slow, but well-paced study of organised crime in urban Naples that leaves a very grim taste in the mouth.
  83. Misha and the Wolves
    Despite a few narrative gaps that needed filling, Sam Hobkinson delivers a rollercoaster-ride of a documentary with superb characters, insightful talking heads and jaw-dropping plot twists.
  84. The Naked Gun
    The result is a film that has a better chance of producing a belly laugh than any in recent memory: one that deserves, as Drebin would say, “20 years for man’s laughter”.
  85. Spy
    The supporting cast is a kick. Law gets to send up the Bond role, something he could very well have played in his younger days; Allison Janney fills her boots as the angry head of the agency and Statham, frankly, should only ever play this role for the rest of his life.
  86. Lights Out
    A lean, mean scare-machine, and a surprise contender for horror of the year. Seek it out. Then, for God’s sake, buy a bedside lamp.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Mary and Max
    Tackling such un-animation topics as loneliness, body image, alcoholism, suicide and Asperger’s syndrome, it’s quirky, compassionate and slightly seedily sweet.
  88. Contagion
    A starkly effective ensemble drama which could well do for the sniffles what Jaws did for great whites.
  89. Scrapper
    A towering achievement for a first film, Scrapper refuses to be pigeonholed as another dreary story about working-class life. Grief has hope, youth holds the keys to everything.
  90. The Kid Who Would Be King
    More proof that Cornish is a wizard at re-energising tired tropes.The characters are a delight, the action sequences thrum with invention, and when it’s funny, it’s very funny indeed.
  91. American Hustle
    An extremely entertaining, brilliantly acted, highly diverting film which — like all hustles — delivers less than it promises. Still, it’s worth being taken for the ride.
  92. See How They Run
    It works better as a weird relationship movie than a murder-mystery but See How They Run is the whodunnit as hoot, with lots of laughs, oodles of style and played with verve by a quality cast. It also reconfirms Saoirse Ronan as a comedy god.
  93. Fahrenheit 9/11
    Arguably not the most proficiently crafted film in Cannes this year and certainly not the most balanced, but Moore’s assault on the Bush administration is a terrific polemic.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    White Men Can't Jump
    It’s overly long and the Rosie Perez sub-plot leads it astray, but mostly, it rocks.
  95. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
    A cat always lands on its feet — and Puss In Boots: The Last Wish does so with considerable style, rapier wit, and surprising substance. The sequel nobody saw coming just became must-see cinematic spectacle.
  96. Nocturne
    If it’s psychological horror you love, Nocturne will be music to your ears. If not super-scary, Quirke’s film is an accomplished, uncomfortable tour de force.
  97. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
    Minnie’s inner life, a fantasia of animations appearing Crumb-like around her, is dazzling, and there’s plenty of naked emotion amid the sex, drugs and hand-drawn penises.
    • 93 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Reversal of Fortune
    An intriguing and absorbing movie, reeking of class and quite packed with powerhouse performances.
    • 77 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Suzume
    Visually striking and emotionally poignant, Suzume manages to combine hilarity and heartache, in its heightened, therapeutic, if slightly unwieldy, narrative.
  100. Meet John Doe
    Vividly staged but sentimental extravaganza.
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