Critics Scoreboard
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Average Critic Score:
49
(30 sources)
49
(30 sources)
-
75
Chicago Sun-Times
By removing elements of magic and operatic excess from the story, the brothers Scott focus on what is, underneath, a story as tragic (and less contrived) as the one cited in the ads, "Romeo and Juliet." Read Full Review » -
75
Premiere
Tristan & Isolde isn't a ground-breaking film in any way, but even though the story is familiar and even if you don't like romances, good casting, an able director, and notable cinematography draw you in to the fairy tale feeling of long ago and far away. Pass the popcorn. Read Full Review » -
75
ReelViews
There's something beautiful about a well-made tragic love story. It may not be as uplifting as one with a happy ending, but it's more cathartic. Read Full Review » -
70
Los Angeles Times
This "Tristan" has its slightly silly moments, but rather like those fondly remembered epics of Hollywood past, its energy and entertainment value carry the day. Read Full Review » -
70
Variety
This understated period drama may lack sufficient star power and emotional wallop to score breakthrough success with mainstream auds during its domestic theatrical run, but pic could find a warmer response in the same international markets where "Kingdom of Heaven" redeemed itself last year. Read Full Review » -
67
Entertainment Weekly
Working with an explanatory script by Dean Georgaris, Reynolds is much more confident in scenes of realistic battle, or even muddy marketplace dailiness, than he is with scenes of desire. Read Full Review » -
63
Miami Herald
Deadly serious, straightforward and surprisingly entertaining tragedy. Read Full Review » -
63
TV Guide
Director Kevin Reynolds isn't so much inspired as determined to tell it with period accuracy, without bothering to be historically accurate. Read Full Review » -
63
Philadelphia Inquirer
Franco, the hollow-cheeked, pouty-lipped actor best known as Spider-Man's nemesis Harry Osborn, plays Tristan like a biker boy with a broadsword. Read Full Review » -
63
USA Today
James Franco is a gorgeous, smoldering lover in Tristan & Isolde, but you can't help being reminded of Ben Stiller's "Zoolander" character. Read Full Review » -
60
Chicago Reader
Director Kevin Reynolds strikes a good balance between action and romance in this version of the medieval legend, but his leading man is upstaged by the supporting cast. Read Full Review » -
60
The New York Times
Just as there is something undeniably pleasant about an entertainment like Tristan & Isolde that delivers exactly what it promises, no less, no more. Read Full Review » -
60
LA Weekly
The film's one indisputably great performance comes from Sewell, whose Marke is no mere cuckold, but a good, honorable man caught up in circumstances beyond his ken, and ultimately this Tristan & Isolde's most tragic figure. Read Full Review » -
60
Empire
It is a noble aim, and Reynolds drenches his movie in earthy, muddy tones. Read Full Review » -
58
Portland Oregonian
As it progresses it becomes a sloppy mix of modern and antique, and the limits of its lead actors and its script become evident. Read Full Review » -
58
Baltimore Sun
With Tristan & Isolde, the core must be a passion that enlarges two outsize characters and seems as momentous as the rise and fall of a kingdom. Too bad this film's Achilles' heel is its heart. Read Full Review » -
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
When it comes to retelling the tale of Tristan and Isolde, give us a movie that makes love. Or even a movie that makes war. Anything, just anything, but a movie that makes nice. Read Full Review » -
50
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
How strange it is to see a film that's supposed to be all about the burning passion and unquenchable exhilaration of true love, and yet is rather passionless and unexhilarating. Read Full Review » -
50
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50
The Hollywood Reporter
A feeble medieval epic with a lackluster romance at its center. Read Full Review » -
50
Washington Post
If I had to sum up Tristan & Isolde for a term paper, I'd say it's like "Braveheart" without the face paint, "Shrek," except the Lord Farquaad character is a sweetheart, and "Freaks and Geeks" because James Franco is so hot, even in Orlando Bloom-y ringlets. Read Full Review » -
50
-
50
Dallas Observer
In the end, the filmmakers strike a bad bargain between action and myth: In their obvious attempt to shoo everyone into the tent--romantic and roughneck alike--they don't serve either end of the spectrum very well. Read Full Review » -
42
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Moves so sluggishly that someone must have been dosing the cast and crew with Nyquil. Read Full Review » -
38
New York Post
Tristan & Isolde makes sacking and pillaging about as exciting as the line at the post office. Read Full Review » -
38
Boston Globe
Franco can be exhilarating in movies -- tremulous, unhinged, a little wild. Here his jaw never stops quivering and his eyes stay welled up, advertising a breakdown that never comes. Not that Myles has a presence a man would fall apart over. She's too professional to drive anybody crazy. Read Full Review » -
30
Film Threat
Takes an unimaginative love story and stretches it as far as possible in an attempt to make it epically grand. Instead, the end result plays out like a George Lucas film without spaceships and lightsabers. Read Full Review » -
30
Village Voice
Myles deserves better, but acquits herself as admirably as one can mired in medieval muck. Read Full Review » -
25
San Francisco Chronicle
Everything connected with the lovers, who are the point of the movie, is either ordinary or unwittingly funny, and the laughs come early. Read Full Review » -
20
Austin Chronicle
Screenwriter Dean Georgaris gets a hell of a pass here - the story is canon, and, in terms of emotional wallop, does all the heavy lifting for him - but he still manages to gunk up the works with dialogue that is dull-witted at best and outright howling at its worst. Read Full Review »
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