--- title: "Captain Corelli's Mandolin: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/captain-corellis-mandolin/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/captain-corellis-mandolin" critics_score: 45 critics_reviews: 12 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001): what the critics said Critics' score 45 from 12 reviews: 0 positive, 6 mixed, 6 negative. Nobody is won over. Of twelve reviews, not one is positive; they divide evenly between mixed and poor. What praise there is goes almost entirely to the island. Critics return again and again to Cephalonia, to the photography and the sweep of the locations, and several say the film briefly comes alive once the war arrives and it has to stage action rather than courtship. The complaints cluster on the romance and on Nicolas Cage. Reviewers find his Italian accent a distraction and his love scenes unconvincing, and most feel the adaptation has pared the novel down to a tidy love story and lost it in the process. The spread is wide: a few find it pleasant enough to pass an evening, while the Los Angeles Times and The AV Club dismiss it outright, the latter objecting to how gently it treats occupation. Eye for Film alone finds Penélope Cruz carrying the darker feeling the rest of the film avoids. ## Screen Daily — Patrick Frater Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 23 April 2001. The accessible page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It provides no specific praise or complaint about the film. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/captain-corellis-mandolin/405515.article) ## The New York Times — A. O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 17 August 2001. The page identifies this as a film review, but its text is inaccessible here. I cannot verify the critic’s verdict or what the review singles out. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/17/movies/film-review-a-mandolin-is-a-weapon-in-a-laid-back-war.html) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The review’s verdict and specific praise or criticism are unavailable in the accessible page text. The page identifies itself as a film review, but provides no review body or printed rating. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/captain-corellis-mandolin) ## Total Film — Total Film Rating 3/5. 4 May 2001. The review finds the film underwhelming, with a flat narrative and unconvincing central romance. It praises the photography and says the story briefly grips when it turns into a tense war film. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/captain-corellis-mandolin-review/) ## Empire — Angie Errigo Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. Errigo finds the film visually appealing and intermittently affecting, but ultimately too insubstantial. She singles out the awkward accents as a major source of absurdity, while noting that the ending works better emotionally than the book’s. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/captain-corelli-mandolin-review/) ## Variety — Derek Elley Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 24 April 2001. Elley finds the film emotionally unsatisfying, though its physical appeal makes it pleasant enough for an uncomplicated moviegoing experience. He praises the Greek locations and visual sweep, while criticizing Nicolas Cage’s unconvincing romantic performance and the muddled final reel. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/captain-corelli-s-mandolin-2-1200467693/) ## Radio Times — Andrew Collins Rating 2/5. The critic finds the adaptation disappointing compared with the richer novel. They praise Cephalonia’s picturesque scenery but fault the film for reducing the story to a sanitised love story. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-sc8ghh/captain-corellis-mandolin/) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Rating 1.5/4. 13 August 2001. Gonzalez finds the film dull and dramatically lifeless. He singles out the lack of chemistry between Cage and Cruz and the film’s failure to deliver flavor or sweep. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/captain-corellis-mandolin/) ## The Guardian — Peter Preston Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 6 May 2001. Preston calls it a flawed, derivative film that occasionally becomes rousing entertainment, but says the novel’s essence fails to survive adaptation. He praises Cephalonia’s beauty and the expertly handled action sequences, while criticizing the screenplay’s severe cuts and thin central romance. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2001/may/06/features.review17) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 17 August 2001. Turan finds the adaptation stodgy, artificial and largely unsuccessful, despite some improvement in its final third. He singles out Nicolas Cage’s bizarre Italian accent as a particularly exasperating flaw. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-aug-17-ca-35070-story.html) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 17 August 2001. Tobias dismisses the film as glossy, middlebrow Oscar bait with dubious history. He particularly faults its romanticized portrayal of wartime occupation and the way it sidelines Bale’s character. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/captain-corellis-mandolin-1798192731) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 2 May 2001. The review finds the film overly polished and simplified, with a weak central performance from Nicolas Cage. It singles out Penelope Cruz for conveying the story’s darker emotional undercurrents. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/captain-corellis-mandolin-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/captain-corellis-mandolin.md