Great Expectations 2012

Kyle Smith, New York Post: An honorable, sober but completely unnecessary take on the Dickens novel, "Great Expectations" serves as a fine introduction to the story but won't excite those familiar with previous versions. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: If your own expectations are not too high, you crave period-costume drama and you're one of those unfortunate people who refuses to watch anything in glorious black-and-white, this Great Expectations is worth the time and effort. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: It's good, not great - but, for some of us, expectations will be met, and then some. Read more

Mike D'Angelo, AV Club: Does this iteration have anything new, fresh, or innovative to recommend it? Nope. Read more

Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: Director Mike Newell approaches the sprawling bildungsroman with a stiff formalism, sacrificing all cinematic excitement for the sake of exalting great performances. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: Vivid characterizations from Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter are the highlights of Mike Newell's traditional retelling of the classic Dickens novel. Read more

Annlee Ellingson, Los Angeles Times: It is skillfully made and adeptly performed; even so it doesn't really add anything to the canon. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: It's not clear what this re-do adds except another line to these actors' resumes. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Yet another big-screen version of Dickens' exquisite tale of striving, charity and arrogance highlights the Gothic deliciousness of the tale. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: For all its lapses, the portrait of a Darwinian social order of haves and have-nots resonates with the chilly, jittery times in which we live. Read more

Michael Sragow, Orange County Register: This swift, gorgeous, uneven production captures the scope, flavor and drive, if not the depth, of Dickens' greatest novel. Read more

Megan Girdwood, Chicago Reader: This remake is the victim of its own loyalty, forgetting that the confounding of expectation is what brought the story to life in the first place. Read more

David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer: Honors the source while making some small but significant alterations. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The crucial central roles go wanting. Read more

Mary Houlihan, Chicago Sun-Times: This Great Expectations is an absorbing addition to the roster of Dickens films that continues our 21st-century fascination with the worlds created by a 19th-century storyteller. Read more

Cath Clarke, Time Out: The chief reason to watch Newell's film is for the impeccable acting. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: One can't help but feel Dickens's classic text has been bent and broken-and not necessarily into a better shape. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: For those who prefer their classic literary adaptations to be as pure as possible, Great Expectations will be a happy addition to the canon. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: A passable feature-length adaptation that does little to burnish the estimable screen legacy of a Dickens classic. Read more

Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice: Lazy English teachers who park their students in front of this will be doing those kids a service. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: It's a welcome and faithful addition to the canon, despite some tweaks. Read more