Empire's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
For 6,818 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:
6818 movie reviews
  1. Convincingly sozzled performances but, like Bukowski's poetry, there is little meaningful here to take away.
  2. 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.
  3. A patchwork of a movie that ultimately knows where it's going, but doesn't really know how to get there.
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    Rich in atmosphere, its leisurely pace dwells on repressed passions in Edwardian society.
  4. 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.
  5. A slicky edited, white knuckle ride to the depths of depravity.
  6. A fun night in with the tellybox, but then it never claimed to be anything more.
  7. As a direct tribute to the dignity of the solider facing attacks on both their bodies and their souls it puts things in a salutary context.
  8. Chris Cooper's superb performance and numerous authentic details makes this a little gem.
  9. A simple, elemental tale that makes breaking the heart seem like the easiest and most natural thing a filmmaker can do to his audience. Which, of course, it isn't.
  10. Good performances from a strong cast and paranoid plotting enough to keep even the staunchest of remake nay-sayers quiet. Hitchockian production with a modern twist.
    • 36 Metascore
    • 60 Critic Score
    Nice performances, a useful script and a dignified ending all boost this film's appeal, but it is the workable simplicity of the premise that really does it.
  11. Sharper than a stake in it's genre references, The Monster Squad appeals to cinephile as well as teen sensibilities.
  12. The first film to be based on a line of toys, this might not be the last, but it'd take something awful to replace it as the worst.
  13. A comic take on Rear Window, Badham's latest has the acting talent to carry it over the sizeable gulfs in plot to an end product that brings laughs aplenty.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    The Lost Boys remains a supremely watchable example of something the '80s did right.
  14. After the fizzle of the later Roger Moore Bonds, The Living Daylights brings in a new 007 in Timothy Dalton, who manages the Connery trick of seeming suave and tough at the same time, and tried to get away from the weak comedy in favour of proper international intrigue.
  15. Predictably awful fourth installment.
  16. A dedicatory, sometimes sombre recreation of the career of 50s teen-throb Richie Valens, which feels like a personal project by director Luis Valdez.
    • 70 Metascore
    • 80 Critic Score
    It was this love of mayhem combined with a biting comic attack on neo-fascist corporatism - most notably seen in the TV ads for products like the apocalyptic board game Nuke 'Em - which helped raise Robocop above the common sci-fi herd.
  17. Significantly worse than the rest of the series, this film is one of the worst flops in recent cinema.
  18. Strays from the boundaries of believability a little too much to be regarding anything other than a throw-away comedy.
  19. It doesn't have the dark edge of Joe Dante's other works, but brilliant performances by Martin Short and Meg Ryan make it a joy from start to finish.
  20. Fun spoof but it's been surpassed in the TV-series film spoof since then.
    • 46 Metascore
    • 40 Critic Score
    Subtlety had never been Brooks’ thing, but even blunt blows need to be well aimed, and while Spaceballs doesn’t exactly miss its targets, it certainly bounces off them embarrassingly.
  21. Warm, charming comedy with one of the best one-liner scenes that remains a classic.
  22. Fans can mouth the words of Grant's big speeches along with him, relishing every viperish turn of phrase...this is and always will be a perfect dark comedy and a student staple.
  23. Superb performances, exquisite direction and that Ennio Morricone score create an authentic 1920s Chicago feel and a hugely entertaining crime drama.
  24. A disquieting tale set in the grim realities of trashy America. Some great, often insane performances make it a memorable trip.
  25. A decent snapshot of pre-Beatle Britain, this is much more a fact-based gay melodrama than a trenchant portrait of Joe Orton's life, loves and art.

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