Empire's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
For 6,824 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 0.8 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:
6824 movie reviews
  1. This isn’t your average against-the-odds survival story.
  2. Rio
    Okay, so it's not exactly a groundbreaking advance from the team behind "Ice Age," but with its kaleidoscope of colour and heaps of humour, you'll be charmed.
  3. An absurd, iconoclastic riot. Ruben Östlund’s point may be blunt — yep, rich people are bad — but his telling of it is hilariously, breathlessly entertaining.
  4. Let Him Go starts languid and builds to a tonally at-odds finale, with its stars looking curiously unengaged. This is what happens when slow burning never really catches fire. Still, Lesley Manville is on fire as a memorable backwoods-y crime boss.
  5. The script is structurally similar to "21 Grams," but restrained turns and perceptive direction make this honest rather than manipulative.
  6. Flimsy plot (as usual for Argento) but stunning set pieces and camera work.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Peppered with fun-to-spot cameos (can you spot Williem Dafoe?), the parody-satire script works well with Depp's adept handling of the titular bad boy. A delinquent joy-ride, though without the Hard-core distaste of previous Waters flicks, which may or may not be a bad thing.
  7. This nightmarish travelogue is coy about gore, but it’s still an effective thrill-ride. If the sequel happens, let’s hope it delivers some actual combat.
  8. La Diva Eterna lives in Jolie, with a performance as towering as it is understated: sad and soulful and heartbreaking. She has never been better. Brava!
  9. This psycho-thriller showcases an awards-worthy performance from James McAvoy. Shyamalan papers over plot-holes with dry black humour and well-judged suspense, and — as always — holds back some surprises.
  10. Bob Odenkirk continues his late-career action streak with a satirical and stylishly violent take on the small-town-under-siege movie. Ben Wheatley meets John Wick? Oh, go on then.
  11. The action meanders occasionally, but the performances are consistently disarming and Luciano Zito and Diego del Piano’s black-and-white photography complements the mood of ironic melancholy.
  12. If it’s surprisingly sweet-sounding subject matter for Albert Hughes’ first solo film, he treats it with respectful seriousness. It’s a family movie but one unafraid to show some very sharp teeth.
  13. A soft-spoken yet chilling domestic horror film that tells its slightly overfamiliar tale effectively, with strong performances, quietly disturbing atmosphere, one or two friendly clichés, and good, old- fashioned scares.
  14. Compelling and honest with flashes of dark humour which makes this a meaty comedy drama.
  15. Scoop is not quite the prince that was promised. But there are some gripping moments, and some extraordinary performances — especially from Sewell and Piper.
  16. It seesaws between disturbing psychosis and freewheeling nouvelle vague romance, then turns awkwardly editorial in the last reel.
  17. Still gripping after all this time.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Like mum's home-made comfort food, it's warming but not really that good for you.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    A scabrous, somewhat wayward anti-80's rant that, whilst providing Grant with a few moments of high farce, lacks the wit and social surety of Withnail & I.
  18. A gripping, zig-zaggy potboiler, this is a crime thriller in the old-school tradition, with some enjoyable turns from Boston’s finest, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
  19. Strong performances anchor a series of unforgettable scenes. Breathtaking and unfathomable.
  20. A sequel that serves its characters with a fresh story instead of relying solely on the tropes of its predecessor. This high-fashion tale could have benefited from higher stakes, but Streep and company remain as in vogue as ever.
  21. The net result is unbeatably good fun, helped along by that inherent fantasy that one man can create global mayhem without stopping to worry who's going to clean up afterwards.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    It has a tendency to drift aimlessly and, having said all there is to say on the subject long before the two hours are up, loiters around when it really ought to have gone to bed.
  22. Wheatley continues an unbroken run of quality, helped by a great cast and a startlingly effective premise. This is seriously cool, stuffed with great dialogue and riddled with bullets.
  23. Considering it’s the debut of one of TV’s hottest double-acts, Keanu is a slight disappointment. But there’s plenty of funny stuff, and George Michael fans in particular should have faith, faith, faith.
  24. It’s a visceral experience; part survivalist drama, part slash-and-stalk thriller, filled with intensity and dread, all amplified by wild editing strategies (flash cuts, jump cuts, abrupt cuts to black) and strobe effects to stoke up the atmosphere.
  25. The reach of this avant-garde comic meltdown sometimes exceeds its grasp, but this is still a consistently jaw-dropping joyride through one man’s terrible, very bad, no good week.
  26. It may be too tame for horror fans, but the gothic twist works remarkably well — even if everything else is business as usual for the Belgian detective.

Top Trailers