Empire's Scores

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For 6,821 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 0.9 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 6821
  2. Mixed: 3,655 out of 6821
  3. Negative: 158 out of 6821
6821 movie reviews
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  1. Concrete Cowboy
    If it cleaves too close to convention and doesn’t land the ending, Concrete Cowboy is a striking debut, celebrating a long-overlooked tradition of Black cowboys via visually powerful filmmaking. And Caleb McLaughlin is superb.
  2. Avatar: The Way of Water
    James Cameron has surfaced with a cosmic marine epic that only he could make: eccentric, soulful, joyous, dark and very, very blue. Yes, he’s still leagues ahead of the pack.
  3. The Blackening
    The Blackening is shuddery entertainment with more laughs than the entire Scary Movie franchise.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Naked Lunch
    Cronenberg's attempt to meld his style with an established writer didnít exactly pan out.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Super Fly
    With some of the best costumes since the musicals of the '50s and one of the '70s funkiest scores, it's quite rudimentary on most levels - it's no Shaft.
  6. Kung Fu Panda 2
    A richer plot, life lessons and loving Chinese cultural references rendered by turns sweet, scary and charming, with yet more fantastical kung fu, make this an engaging winner. Stunning visuals make it real art as well.
  7. Robot and Frank
    Forget the sci-fi trimmings and sentimental pay-off — this is a gleefully subversive character study of a charming but unapologetic rogue.
  8. Slither
    Undeniably funny and gooey to boot, Slither may not be groundbreaking but it is a rarity: a horror-comedy that does both its genre-parents proud.
  9. At Close Range
    Engaging performances by Penn and Walken can’t quite turn this brutal curio into something more substantial.
  10. 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.
  11. In Bruges
    With In Bruges, the British gangster movie gets a Croydon facelift. It may not be new, but it’s a wonderfully fresh take on a familiar genre: fucked-up, far-out and very, very funny.
  12. Brigsby Bear
    A film about a cult that might well attract a cult following itself. But it’s only moderately successful, with the early scenes hinting at a bolder, more satisfying tale that could have been.
  13. Running on Empty
    Despite Lumet's home-spun pincer movement on the espionage/conspiracy genres, cliché still sneaks up and nips the film into submission.
  14. Nocturnal Animals
    Ford’s artfully composed and emotionally clever noir is well-paced and, in stark contrast to the naked flesh that opens the film, never, ever sags.
  15. Russian Dolls
    For all its self-conscious pizzazz, this is irresistibly entertaining.
  16. Bolt
    The unlikely superhero of this film is the hamster, who brings the funny amid a flurry of weaker gags. But Bolt still has charm -- it just won't hit with the adults the way the best animated films can.
  17. Bananas
    Although there are fine homages to Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Eisenstein and Harold Lloyd here, this is a scattershot offering full of apolitical mockery.
  18. T2 Trainspotting
    In some senses T2 shares elements with its Terminator namesake. It’s inventive and full of surprises. But unlike Cameron’s sequel, it doesn’t reimagine the original in quite the same glorious way.
  19. My Old School
    Weighted by a reliably mesmeric performance from Alan Cumming, this visually varied doc misses an opportunity to ask big questions, but still manages to pack a punch on a small scale.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    The Door in the Floor
    This better-than-the-book adaptation casts quite a spell.
  21. The Blood of a Poet
    Cocteau has produced a bizarre, interesting although at times tedious movie.
  22. Fatal Attraction
    Two absolutely riveting performances and a smart reversal of the usual male-female stalker scenario leave behind a nasty taste and an unforgettable cinema experience.
  23. 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.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Die Hard 2
    More violent, more explosive and even bigger than the original - this ticks all the sequel boxes. But as long as Willis is in his vest and playing McClane, it's hard to care about its shortcomings.
  25. The Wall
    Bold and beautiful, this is a mystery worth puzzling over.
  26. Cuties
    Cuties is a thematically bold yet nuanced study of displacement and duty that deserves to be seen as an auspicious and astute debut, not the source of scandal.
  27. Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
    If director Chuck Workman maps a familiar rise and fall of rule-breaking brilliance it is vindicated by the great raconteur and in-depth praise from an impressive roster.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Halloween
    While it doesn’t capture the magic of the original, this Halloween brings much-needed closure to a troubled franchise, with Curtis excellent and Michael Myers pleasingly terrifying again.
    • 67 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Synecdoche, New York
    Astonishing. Kaufman has surpassed himself with a film that will delight and confound. You will want to see it again. And again.
  30. Charlie Wilson's War
    Extremely enjoyable. Although it’s a little tonally unsure, whenever Hanks and Hoffman are on screen, any misgivings are forgiven.
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