Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II
ABC | Release Date: December 1, 2005
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
35
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
6
Negative:
12

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
New York PostAdam Buckman
Season 1 Review: Kretschmann... delivers one of the finest performances seen on TV this year. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalNancy DeWolf Smith
Season 1 Review: Any way you portray Karol Wojtyla, he comes out looking extraordinary. Read full review
60
The New York TimesAlessandra Stanley
Season 1 Review: The movie races so quickly through the milestones of his career... that some of the most powerful moments in his papacy are underplayed. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyTimothy Guanatilaka
Season 1 Review: This heart-tugger suffers from efficiency. [2 Dec 2005, p.74]
50
Philadelphia InquirerJonathan Storm
Season 1 Review: Partially because of its more cursory treatment of the Pope's life, the show seems less preachy and more emotional than the CBS effort, and more appropriate. Read full review
50
USA TodayRobert Bianco
Season 1 Review: Fear plays like an illustrated Life of the Saints on fast-forward. Blink and you can miss decades. Read full review
40
TimeJames Poniewozik
Season 1 Review: In the end, both [CBS' and ABC's Pope] movies stick to what viewers can agree on (commies and Nazis, bad; love, good), while skipping much of the Pope's sometimes polarizing tenure as a leader. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterBarry Garron
Season 1 Review: This depiction of John Paul II as half human, half saint -- though hardly unexpected and possibly even warranted -- leaves us with a character that is less dimensional and less relatable and, consequently, less interesting. Read full review
30
VarietyBrian Lowry
Season 1 Review: Granted, the smaller time frame makes it more difficult to chronicle an 80-some-odd-year life, but what emerges is a CliffsNotes version that fastidiously avoids crowd shots (presumably to keep costs down) and struggles to create drama with its worshipful tone. Read full review
30
NewsdayVerne Gay
Season 1 Review: All this feels dutiful and rote - the CliffsNotes version. Read full review
30
Chicago TribuneSid Smith
Season 1 Review: The movie is more a series of biographical announcements than penetrating drama. Read full review
30
San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa TimesCharlie McCollum
Season 1 Review: Anything remotely resembling complexity and nuance has been sacrificed to cramming six decades of history into two hours of airtime, minus commercials. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesRobert Lloyd
Season 1 Review: The accelerating pace of the movie runs roughshod over the drama. Read full review
30
SlateDana Stevens
Season 1 Review: It zips through 60-plus years of Wojtyla's life at a pace that manages to be both breakneck and boring. Read full review
25
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 1 Review: Stiflingly reverential, sadly superficial. Read full review
20
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteAnn Rodgers
Season 1 Review: Because the movie tries to cover too much ground, it will be incoherent for those who don't already know the story, and disappointing for those who do. Worse, it is off-key in its presentation of both minor and major passages of his life. Read full review
10
Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
Season 1 Review: Turns the pope into a pious stick figure. Read full review
10
Seattle Post-IntelligencerMelanie McFarland
Season 1 Review: Largely worthless. Read full review
10
Washington PostTom Shales
Season 1 Review: Even though the life of the Polish pope... obviously is loaded with dramatic potential, the film seems listlessly uninterested in exploring it. Read full review
0
Chicago Sun-TimesDoug Elfman
Season 1 Review: I think I could have written a better script during the two hours it took me to watch "Have No Fear." I think you could, too, and I don't even know you. Read full review
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