Post by EXO on Mar 10, 2013 7:52:55 GMT 8
Early opinions starting to accumulate:
"Despite a typically strong performance from Tommy Lee Jones, Emperor does little with its fascinating historical palate, and is instead bogged down in a cliched romantic subplot." - Rotten Tomatoes. 34%
"The subject is intrinsically compelling, yet the central story is padded with an uninvolving love story that functions mostly as obvious symbolism about compassion for the enemy." - Claudia Puig, USA Today
"Wrapping a history lesson in a romantic melodrama can make for a lively movie, but only if the love story is juicier than the educational narrative."Mark Jenkins, Washington Post
"Regrettably, "Emperor" does not match MacArthur's vigor, or mine his legacy. Instead, the movie is Fellers' tale and dryly told." - Betsy Sharkey, LA Times
"The effort to put a personal face on the major issue of occupation is as timely as Iraq and Afghanistan, but the execution is clumsy and cliché-ridden." "Only near the end, when MacArthur and Hirohito meet in person, do we get fireworks. And that's thanks to Jones, who makes sure this old soldier will never die in our memory. As for this tepid movie, it just fades away." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone.
"However turgid the storytelling, "Emperor" makes its historic points about a widely unknown 1945 wartime episode that played out in U.S occupied Japan after its surrender." - Cole Smithey
"It comes off as a fairly boring and on-the-nose experience that only history buffs might find intriguing and/or entertaining. " Jim Judy, Screen It!
"A modestly budgeted, respectfully executed post-WWII drama, the film is also entirely edgeless, and aside from a couple of swear words is ready to be shown in classrooms and on the History Channel in endless repeats." Kevin Jagernauth, The Playlist. [No comment here about accuracy, or or whether it presents a false narrative. Is this how history is taught nowadays? - exo]
"Just a dull procedural, with the bland Matthew Fox driving around in a jeep and asking questions and not having them answered." Steven Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger.
"As intriguing as the words "Tommy Lee Jones as Gen. MacArthur" sound, the acting is rote and the story slack in a film that makes a vital historical moment feel irrelevant.' Mike Scott, Times-Picayune.
"As a concise reduction of history, the movie does get at some truth. As an involving piece of storytelling, though, it's lacking." Mark Dujsik, Mark Reviews Movies.
"The facts might be right, or at least mostly right, but the film is polished to the point of distraction." Robert Levin, amNewYork.
"Emperor, however, is so sophisticated in its ambitions, mature in its narrative, and expert in its execution that the film's failures are more honorable than fatal." Louis Black, Austin Chronicle.
"From a technical viewpoint, there’s not much to object to, finding the picture tasteful as it recreates a post-WWII atmosphere of paranoia and suffering. The emphasis on Fellers’s emotional volatility is intriguing, but unfilled by thin writing and poor execution, presented as a soap opera when the movie is more effective as a military drama.“Emperor” has a genuinely meaningful performance from Haneda, who’s terrific in limited scenes, while Jones stomps around with his customary poker-faced attitude, playing himself more than MacArthur. However, his small contributions are welcome as “Emperor” loses steam, slowing down to a stop before a nifty conclusion arrives, where MacArthur meets with a trembling Hirohito. It’s such a stimulating scene, it makes the rest of picture seem positively wasteful, working with such lofty schemes of judgment and romance, yet nothing can top a straightforward moment of two world leaders in a room trying to communicate their intentions. " Brian Orndorf.
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"Despite a typically strong performance from Tommy Lee Jones, Emperor does little with its fascinating historical palate, and is instead bogged down in a cliched romantic subplot." - Rotten Tomatoes. 34%
"The subject is intrinsically compelling, yet the central story is padded with an uninvolving love story that functions mostly as obvious symbolism about compassion for the enemy." - Claudia Puig, USA Today
"Wrapping a history lesson in a romantic melodrama can make for a lively movie, but only if the love story is juicier than the educational narrative."Mark Jenkins, Washington Post
"Regrettably, "Emperor" does not match MacArthur's vigor, or mine his legacy. Instead, the movie is Fellers' tale and dryly told." - Betsy Sharkey, LA Times
"The effort to put a personal face on the major issue of occupation is as timely as Iraq and Afghanistan, but the execution is clumsy and cliché-ridden." "Only near the end, when MacArthur and Hirohito meet in person, do we get fireworks. And that's thanks to Jones, who makes sure this old soldier will never die in our memory. As for this tepid movie, it just fades away." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone.
"However turgid the storytelling, "Emperor" makes its historic points about a widely unknown 1945 wartime episode that played out in U.S occupied Japan after its surrender." - Cole Smithey
"It comes off as a fairly boring and on-the-nose experience that only history buffs might find intriguing and/or entertaining. " Jim Judy, Screen It!
"A modestly budgeted, respectfully executed post-WWII drama, the film is also entirely edgeless, and aside from a couple of swear words is ready to be shown in classrooms and on the History Channel in endless repeats." Kevin Jagernauth, The Playlist. [No comment here about accuracy, or or whether it presents a false narrative. Is this how history is taught nowadays? - exo]
"Just a dull procedural, with the bland Matthew Fox driving around in a jeep and asking questions and not having them answered." Steven Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger.
"As intriguing as the words "Tommy Lee Jones as Gen. MacArthur" sound, the acting is rote and the story slack in a film that makes a vital historical moment feel irrelevant.' Mike Scott, Times-Picayune.
"As a concise reduction of history, the movie does get at some truth. As an involving piece of storytelling, though, it's lacking." Mark Dujsik, Mark Reviews Movies.
"The facts might be right, or at least mostly right, but the film is polished to the point of distraction." Robert Levin, amNewYork.
"Emperor, however, is so sophisticated in its ambitions, mature in its narrative, and expert in its execution that the film's failures are more honorable than fatal." Louis Black, Austin Chronicle.
"From a technical viewpoint, there’s not much to object to, finding the picture tasteful as it recreates a post-WWII atmosphere of paranoia and suffering. The emphasis on Fellers’s emotional volatility is intriguing, but unfilled by thin writing and poor execution, presented as a soap opera when the movie is more effective as a military drama.“Emperor” has a genuinely meaningful performance from Haneda, who’s terrific in limited scenes, while Jones stomps around with his customary poker-faced attitude, playing himself more than MacArthur. However, his small contributions are welcome as “Emperor” loses steam, slowing down to a stop before a nifty conclusion arrives, where MacArthur meets with a trembling Hirohito. It’s such a stimulating scene, it makes the rest of picture seem positively wasteful, working with such lofty schemes of judgment and romance, yet nothing can top a straightforward moment of two world leaders in a room trying to communicate their intentions. " Brian Orndorf.
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