Empire's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Select another publication »
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
view
per page
  1. The Mighty Ducks
    As a light family sports feel-good this works but don't look for anything more.
  2. Second Act
    If you’re not fond of Lopez’s soapier films (hello Maid In Manhattan) this might make for queasy watching, but stick with Second Act for its smart reframing of a city Cinderella story that retains its sense of humour.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Yes Man
    It's charming enough with some nice comedy touches, but the initially intriguing premise is soon railroaded out of sight by its desire to conform to a tried-and-tested cinematic formula.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Weird Science
    Distinctly predictable offering from the ever-overworking John Hughes, who has taken a step back from his previous work.
  5. Beneath the Planet of the Apes
    Those with the patience to sit through a slow first half will be rewarded with another gutsy ending.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Smilla's Sense of Snow
    After the disastrous "The House Of The Spirits," Bille August should know from experience to leave good novels well alone.
  7. Killing Bono
    A clever idea that can't find its feet on the bigger stage.
  8. Laal Singh Chaddha
    It’s an enjoyable, super-faithful cover version but Laal Singh Chaddha is like a box of chocolates: you know exactly what you’re gonna get.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 20 Critic Score
    Destination Wedding
    Reeves and Ryder work very hard to make Destination Wedding work, but deeply unlikeable characters and a clunky script means there’s no escaping the fact it’s a disappointing misfire.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Cheaper by the Dozen
    The film works best when it taps into the chaos generated by the kids, and there are a number of suitably anarchic Home Alone-style set-pieces.
  11. Samaritan
    In a crowded marketplace, new superhero movies need a lot to stand out; despite some solid work from Sylvester Stallone, it’s not really clear what Samaritan is bringing to the table.
  12. She's the Man
    The highschool hijinks may entertain the young, but those more familiar with the Bard will recognise this as a wasted opportunity.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Mad City
    Yet in trying to be honest and non-conformist, Mad City does the most dishonest thing imaginable: it conforms to Hollywood routine.
  14. [REC] 3: Genesis
    The early franchise frights are missing. There's some ironic light-heartedness in the nuptial set, the religious overtones are distractingly self-conscious.
  15. The 'Burbs
    One of Tom Hanks' overlooked performances because this bizarre thriller-comedy ends so strangely but there's much to like here.
  16. Krull
    One of the dreariest outer space swashbucklers of all time.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Pain & Gain
    Michael Bay goes back to a Bad Boys budget and a big boys’ rating, for a true-life crime story that’s inconsistent and frenetic, but also funny and wilfully outrageous.
  18. The Little Rascals
    What sounded like a bad idea before it started shooting, proves such an atrocity that it makes her last effort, The Beverly Hillbillies, look almost Oscar-worthy.
  19. Straw Dogs
    Lurie's remake doesn't bring a lot of fresh ideas to the table. The thick fug of moral ambiguity, so disconcerting in Peckinpah's film, is missing, replaced by certainties rife in modern horror. The result is a bit of yawn enlivened only by James Woods' delirious bad guy.
  20. Joe Versus the Volcano
    Despite magic moments, this is so lop-sided in conception it's really only worth seeking out as a folly.
  21. Children of the Corn
    It’s ragged round the edges, but then Fritz Kiersch is working with a budget Roger Corman would laugh at, and he does a good job.
  22. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
    Star Wars it wasn't and still isn't...camp 70's space stuff but the TV series spin-off is a fond memory for 30-somethings throughout the Western World.
  23. The Tomorrow War
    Despite its wild premise — Chris Pratt goes to the future to fight aliens! — and considerable talent, The Tomorrow War is mostly just bloated blockbuster business as usual.
  24. The Singing Detective
    Where Gambon made the perfect misanthrope, Downey doesn't quite fit the role. Astonishingly, despite his drug-related crimes and misdemeanours, he actually seems too innocent to be so crabby and vile.
  25. Mona Lisa Smile
    There are some roles Julia Roberts was born to play -- a tart with a heart, say, or a likeable and famous actor -- but a charismatic, inspiring 1950s teacher is not one of them.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Club Dread
    Club Dread still thrives on the group's enormous charm and the determined, genuinely funny comedic approach of knowing pop-culture winks and a zaniness that marks them as pleasingly Pythonesque.
  27. American Assassin
    An uneven thriller that would have been better served aiming for a lighter tone.
  28. Evita
    Madonna knocks herself out and deserves cheers for the emotional range and humanity with which she sings in Alan Parker's spectacular film. But whether you think the movie is great or grisly, rests in large part on your palate for Andrew Lloyd Webber's music.
  29. 23 Walks
    23 Walks is romance of the gentlest kind. Steadman and Johns are likeable but the writing doesn’t deliver characters that compel and convince. But for dog lovers, it’s pooch porn.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Factory Girl
    A brave bid to recreate a modern American tragedy, with a revelatory turn by its lead actress.
  31. The Son
    Robustly acted by a superb cast and with some beautiful moments, this follow-up to The Father nevertheless feels less mature and less sure of itself.
  32. The Wayward Cloud
    Wrongly branded misogynist by PC kneejerkers, this is a scathing assault on the exploitative nature of pornography and the emptiness of sex without love.
  33. Pretty Persuasion
    A teenie "To Die For" whose flaws are superceded by a complex, compelling turn from Evan Rachel Wood.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Still Life
    Beautifully crafted and exquisitely observed with an outstanding performance from Eddie Marsan in the lead.
  35. Hoodwinked!
    The idea is so great that it's a crying shame that the end product is such a sheep in wolf's clothing.
  36. Uncharted
    A film based on a game inspired by films that are much better than this one, Uncharted is watchable enough but could have been so much better.
  37. The Chamber
    No fun at all.
  38. Into the Blue
    The Academy might not be troubled, but at times Into The Blue's wet Hollywood bodies really hit the spot.
  39. Fire and Ice
    Better avoided unless you're doing a study on vaguely titillating rubbish 80s animation.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    The Good Son
    This thriller can't decide if it's a childrens thriller meant for adults or an adult thriller meant for kids, but ends up entertaining no-one.
  41. House of Spoils
    Despite Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose's best efforts, this fine-dining horror only elicits a few scares. The food looks delicious, and the knife skills are on point, but genre fans will likely want to eat elsewhere.
  42. The Pope's Exorcist
    It’s not just the demonic possession victims whose eyes will be rolling back in their skulls – none of this should work, really, and yet the film just about gets away with it, proving the Lord truly does move in mysterious ways.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Boomerang
    This is cornily predictable stuff, but it raises itself on a number of counts, with Murphy's transformation from a self-assured cocksman to bewildered, lovesick drip being approached with greater gusto than might be expected.
  44. The Invasion
    If not a train-wreck, this is certainly more than a fender-bender. In a world overflowing with targets for a satirical pasting, we needed something a lot sharper than this.
  45. Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?
    A frustratingly soft documentary that would sooner teach the world to sing than get to the bottom of the Bin Laden enigma.
  46. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
    Bigger, better and more polished than the first, with a quite satisfactory ratio of action set-pieces and a lot of juvenile japery squarely aimed at its PG and fanboy audience.
  47. Justice League
    It’s breezily fun at times, in a what-the-hey way. But, lumbered with a story that struggles to find resonance beyond its improbable plot devices and preposterous MacGuffinry, Justice League isn’t about to steal Avengers’ super-team crown.
  48. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1
    The acting's better than it's ever been, but with the best will in the world, this can't get past the fact that the story's demented.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    The Platform 2
    Despite the compelling high concept — and some epic action set-pieces — there’s not quite enough meat on the bones of this dystopian follow-up to make it truly worthy of its predecessor. 
  50. Get Rich or Die Tryin'
    It's bad enough to ban on purely artistic grounds.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Firewall
    Covers disappointingly predictable territory for an actor of Ford's skills and reputation.
  52. Kill Your Friends
    Nicholas Hoult does his best to bring Niven's weapons-grade scumbag to life, in a film hobbled by amateurish acting and absence of production value.
  53. Love Me If You Dare
    An uncomfortable, if intriguing, mess.
  54. The Possession
    Too safe to shock and too familiar to really frighten, this is an overly conventional affair.
  55. Miral
    Schnabel doesn't comes close to the quiet power of his last feature, "The Diving Bell And The Butterfly," delivering a story that can't match the scope or scale of Rula Jebreal's source material.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
    An overly complicated plot and poorly thought-out characters detract from the flashes of charm that Cap'n Jack still emits. Despite quality set-pieces and the best efforts of the cast, this is dull and crossbones.
  57. By the Sea
    A Sheltering Sky-lite romantic travelogue that, despite its two leads, lacks any real spark.
  58. Damien: Omen II
    A rerun of the first one but satan junior is now a teenager.
  59. A Minecraft Movie
    A hyperactive hot-pink mess of a movie, which fails to elevate its cubic source material and revels in that failure like it’s achieving something.
  60. The Paperboy
    A superb Kidman takes off the handbrake, and most everything else, in Daniels' southern-fried follow-up to "Precious." Watch it with "Killer Joe" for the ultimate sweaty, twisted double-bill.
  61. Unforgettable
    Scuppered by a lazy script that fails to effectively build tension, Unforgettable lives up to its name, but not for the right reasons.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Click
    Another 'nice' Sandler comedy that works, thanks to some smart and genuinely moving ideas at its core.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Blindness
    Handicapped by pretensions to making big statements, Blindness is still gripping, disturbing and intermittently powerful.
  64. Elizabeth: The Golden Age
    Over-indulgent and melodramatic, as is the nature of artistic mythmaking, The Golden Age will beguile and repel in equal measure. The performances are supreme, although some viewers may struggle to reconcile the director’s epic intentions.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Jefferson in Paris
    Sadly, beyond the wigs, costumes and exquisite set design, its a vacant enterprise.
  66. Zombie Strippers!
    A brilliantly high-concept title and some decent gore aside, you're better off watching the version in your head. It will be infinitely more fun and have markedly improved production values.
  67. A Liar's Autobiography - The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
    A moving and often funny self-portrayal of Chapman that will delight Python fans.
  68. Taken 2
    The first one offered the novel sight of Oskar Schindler going Commando. Unfortunately, this half-hearted sequel is low on novelty and lower on fun.
  69. Intruders
    Though short on shocks and mild in horror terms, Fresnadillo's fantasy has a lot of heart and sincerity in equal measure.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    It Takes Two
    Staggeringly laboured though this premise may be, it also has the potential for some lightweight farce to pass the time.
  71. Wonder Park
    Wonder Park has some fun bits (a narcoleptic bear) and a worthy sentiment around the value of going through tough times but it’s too hectic and untethered to land its loftier ideas. It aspires to be Inside Out but falls way short.
  72. The Distinguished Gentleman
    Murphy occasionally does uninterrupted seconds of shtick, but the film is stuffed with cheap sentiment (a kid with cancer), extraneous characters and embarrassing simplistic politics.
  73. Brimstone
    Brutal in its depictions of violence, Brimstone is tough to watch at times, but never less than gripping, even as the clock creeps up to the 150-minute mark.
  74. The Lie
    A watchable tale of parental dread, propelled by a strong conceit and sustained tension — but let down by its outlandish twist.
  75. Hall Pass
    Not up there with the Farrelly brothers' classics, but still a worthwhile, farcical comedy.
  76. Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World
    An all-too conventional look at an unconventional man, Big George Foreman is, alas, a swing and a miss.
  77. The Statement
    Positioned as a tense political thriller, Jewison's film is high on the (somewhat confusing) politics but falls a little short on the thrills.
  78. Elizabethtown
    Crowe is still a master navigator of swampy territory, and any movie that can warm the heart and tickle the funny bone without selling its soul is to be cherished, warts and all.
  79. Pixie
    Uneven, immature and a little derivative — but entertaining performances from Olivia Cooke and Alec Baldwin keeps Pixie watchable.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
    This lacks the darkness and subtlety that makes the first film so good, and so adult, but its simplified plot and gags will appeal to the under tens.
  81. The 15:17 to Paris
    Clint Eastwood’s bold choice to have real protagonists does little to enliven a listless story about friendship. Although the terrorist attack is effectively staged, The 15:17 To Paris fails to spin a remarkable film out of a remarkable act of heroism.
  82. Two Night Stand
    Charming performances from both leads and insightful vignettes makes up for occasional clumsy writing and plot developments.
  83. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
    The premise promised Regency class and Romero shocks. The results, though, are only intermittently entertaining, and a better adaptation of Austen than a monster mash.
  84. South of the Border
    Stone's film could have allowed political voices that are rarely present to get a fair, and critical hearing. Instead he near smooches them to death.
  85. The Running Man
    Never managing to look more hi-tech or further on from 1987 than, well, Hi-tech trainers, this Arnie vehicle still runs it's bloody course without dropping many gears. A brainless, breathless thrill.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Hold Your Breath
    For a debut feature, this dustbowl survival flick shows undeniable promise. But committed performances and striking cinematography can’t stop a shaky narrative crumbling at the last. 
  87. The Rhythm Section
    Lively’s steely heroine and a propulsive plot ensure you’re never bored, but this is a generic thriller from a simpler time, bulked up by a single strong performance.
  88. She-Devil
    An all-star lineup with some kookie moments, but a bit limp overall.
  89. Snatched
    A winning double act never quite gels in a fish-out-of-water road-trip caper — think ‘National Lampoon’s Gringo Vacation’ — that leans hard on its stars’ charms and very lightly on coherent plotting.
  90. EuroTrip
    Like many of its ilk, this lacks both the wit and cheeky charm of the Pie franchise, subsisting instead on trite gags that dredge up every European stereotype from football thugs to French mimes.
  91. Don't Knock Twice
    Although replete with creepy shocks, this lacks the narrative finesse to match the committed performances and slick visuals.
  92. Kicking & Screaming
    This year's Dodgeball? Not a chance. Ferrell admirably tackles the so-so material, but it soon defeats him.
  93. Ghostbusters: Afterlife
    It’s always fun, inventive and full of charm. If you have any concerns that Jason Reitman’s film might sully the legacy of his dad’s greatest creation, there’s nothing to be afraid of.
  94. Outside the Wire
    Despite strong lead performances and some intriguing themes, this rarely rises above being a serviceable action thriller.
  95. A Million Little Pieces
    It’s well-intentioned and pretty, but not much else. Occasional stylistic flourish aside, it offers nothing we haven’t seen before, buckling under the weight of its own conservatism.
    • 45 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Indecent Proposal
    The performances are alright enough but the casting was a bizarre choice and it's just not strong enough to carry the premise.
  97. Outlaw
    The kind of film the tabloids will call to ban. Don't take that as a reason to see it.
  98. Secret in Their Eyes
    A humdrum remake of a crackerjack thriller, this never gets out of second gear despite a classy cast and intriguing premise. Credit to Dean Norris for playing a character called Bumpy with an entirely straight face.
  99. Sand Castle
    Sand Castle does a respectable job of depicting a wretched conflict that none of its participants wanted, but its reason for being feels a little built on sand.
  100. Cocoon: The Return
    The first film had its moment of charm, and the cast were good enough to overcome the downright stupidity of the storyline, but this is simply a dreary bore that takes advantage of a terrific cast by moving them about on the screen without giving them anything to do. One long yawn.
Page:

Top Trailers

See all »
See all trailers »