49
Metascore
32 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonThis isn't a stand up and cheer flick; it's a sit down and ponder affair. And thanks to Kline's superbly nuanced performance, that pondering is highly pleasurable.
- 75Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanCharlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanLike the story, Kline builds in intensity: He has no flowery speeches that would be untrue to his character, but he leaves a clear impression of a man who values knowledge and the imparting of it above all else.
- 63The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenTurns a blind eye to the very history it pretends to teach.
- 63Miami HeraldConnie OgleMiami HeraldConnie OgleMore than just another feel-good teacher movie.
- 63New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickKline's divine -- alas, the film isn't.
- 60L.A. WeeklyElla TaylorL.A. WeeklyElla TaylorThis likable but utterly conventional movie works harder than is necessary to unpack for us Ethan Canin’s short story "The Palace Thief."
- 50The New York TimesDana StevensThe New York TimesDana StevensCarefully sets itself up as an obvious, transparent morality play, and then just as deliberately refuses the easy payoff. This is both impressive and a little disingenuous: the film is in effect congratulating itself for refusing to offer a neat and tidy view of life without offering much else.
- 50Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyPhiladelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyDon't blame Kline. This most thoughtful of actors is trapped behind the lectern of a film that spouts contradictory lessons it can't reconcile.
- 50Portland OregonianKim MorganPortland OregonianKim MorganBut with a potentially fascinating study of ethics, of how cheating rich boys become cheating rich men while humble souls do more good in the world, The Emperor's Club doesn't take the audience anywhere smart.
- 40Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenWould be a much better film had it not relied so heavily on a bombastic soundtrack (by James Newton Howard) for its emotional impact and spared itself some of the more overdone images of campus life.