Yet the film is such a cracking good entertainment I barely even noticed that its world makes no sense.

Full Review | Nov 26, 2019

And naturally, with Hopkins on board, the rest of the cast was pretty terrific as well - to the point of unexpectedly turning King Lear into something of an ensemble piece.

Full Review | Nov 26, 2019

It's as political a production as it needs to be, and at its best, it feels as current and as timeless as a nightmare.

Full Review | Nov 26, 2019

Any Lear with Hopkins is a good Lear, and while this version may be thinner than most, it's still got all the moments one would wish for.

Full Review | Jan 31, 2019

A simple, accessible version of one of Shakespeare's best.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 17, 2018

The whole cast - top-notch - takes Anthony Hopkins' lead and chews the scenery down to gristle and bone.

Full Review | Oct 4, 2018

In short, Eyre's style is a superb way to approach the Bard in the age of the Shard.

Full Review | Oct 3, 2018

The performances hold it together; this play has always been focused on human suffering. Amazon's King Lear is by no means a definitive adaptation of what is arguably the Bard's finest tragedy, but it is a thrilling and entertaining one.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Oct 2, 2018

What a story! Well done, Will. Fantastic imagery and art direction, but a little heavy and a tad wearing, the film's chock-a-block with interesting British actors.

Full Review | Oct 2, 2018

While the language of Shakespeare can be a challenge for the modern viewer, this "King Lear" is so physical and the acting so expressive that one is never unsure of what is happening, or what devilment.

Full Review | Sep 28, 2018

I'm sad to say I'm torn on this Lear... That said, it is an absolute joy to watch Hopkins, Thompson, Menzies, Watson, and Christopher Eccleston chew into Shakespeare.

Full Review | Sep 28, 2018

If somehow you've gone this long without ever being exposed to this dramatic masterwork, this is a thoroughly approachable introduction.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Sep 26, 2018

Just because nobody could or should feel this is a definitive King Lear detracts only somewhat from the undeniable joy that comes from even two hours of watching Anthony Hopkins gnash his teeth, wail and go gloriously mad.

Full Review | Sep 20, 2018

Klebeev's King Lear then becomes interesting because of its focus on Rotin. Viewers are subsumed into his perspective, with nothing outside to challenge it

Full Review | Jul 23, 2018

Hopkins dominated, no surprise there, but it was Emma Thompson who dazzled, playing Goneril like a cougar with a lion-sized appetite.

Full Review | Jun 5, 2018

Goneril shouldn't be played by anyone whose chief trait is Mary Poppins cosiness.

Full Review | Jun 4, 2018

It was like turning on the TV in a foreign hotel room...So let's just say I failed it, and not the other way around.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Jun 4, 2018

Now 80 himself, the right age, Hopkins is at home in Lear's skin. Shouty, angry, cruel one moment; vulnerable, tender, loving the next - or at the same time. A mesmerising performance.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 29, 2018

Despite its strength-in-depth cast it ends up as less than the sum of its parts.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 29, 2018

Flawed parenting, ingrate children and family estrangement will never not be relevant, and the modern-day dress gave it the feel of a production at ease with itself.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | May 29, 2018