Crossbones
NBC | Release Date: May 30, 2014
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
11
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The Huffington PostMaureen RyanMay 30, 2014
Season 1 Review: Everything around Malkovich is workmanlike and rather predictable, if competent. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMatt RoushMay 30, 2014
Season 1 Review: [John Malkovich] makes this cartoonish romp a lot more fun than Starz's Black Sails--which admittedly isn't saying much. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsDavid HinckleyMay 29, 2014
Season 1 Review: As it threads through a maze of sometimes shaky plot turns, you could say the script gets tortured--along with most of the characters. But there is a payoff, in the high-stakes cat-and-mouse game between pirate Blackbeard (John Malkovich) and Tom Lowe (Richard Coyle), a British crown agent who represents law and order. Read full review
58
Uncle BarkyEd BarkMay 29, 2014
Season 1 Review: All in all, Crossbones is about as believable as Casanova in a seminary. But there’s some fun to be had and some Malkovich to behold. Read full review
50
Denver PostJoanne OstrowMay 30, 2014
Season 1 Review: While it's enjoyable enough watching Malkovich sneer and gloat and threaten torture, the overall adventure isn't as enticing as recent frontier/mob/dirty-cop outings. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubEmily VanDerWerffMay 29, 2014
Season 1 Review: The show is worth watching once to sample what Malkovich is up to, but it ultimately suffers from not following his performance to its logical conclusion and making the whole series a completely bonkers Blackbeard experience. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesLori RacklMay 27, 2014
Season 1 Review: The only buoy that may keep you holding on week-to-week is the entertaining interplay between Blackbeard and honorable spy-surgeon Tom Lowe. Read full review
50
People WeeklyTom GliattoMay 22, 2014
Season 1 Review: Even this adventuresome idiosyncratic actor [Malkovich] doesn't seem to be having much fun. [2 Jun 2014, p.46]
40
SlateWilla PaskinMay 30, 2014
Season 1 Review: At certain moments, when Coyle and Malkovich banter about god, the devil, and England, Crossbones is almost the kicky fun it was meant to be.... But a few sentences later, Blackbeard returns to growling clichés. Read full review
40
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenMay 27, 2014
Season 1 Review: Crossbones doesn’t offer compelling enough drama to complement its banal brutality. Read full review
40
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoMay 27, 2014
Season 1 Review: Every time Crossbones threatens to completely disintegrate, Malkovich brings some of his talent to a show that doesn't really deserve it. Read full review
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