Macbeth (2015)

Kurzel delivers a lean, mean and sensational blood-soaked adaptation that finds humanity in the Macbeths through grief over their lost child. Fassbender and Cotillard give unforgettable performances in an exquisitely shot, rigorously controlled film full of bold invention.

Kurzel's bold, viscerally thrilling Macbeth with its brutal battle-heavy storyline makes Shakespeare compelling even for those daunted by the dialogue, aided by strong performances from Fassbender and Cotillard. The propulsive pace and technical achievements create an immersive experience.

Kurzel's scarcely improvable new Macbeth is fearsomely visceral and impeccably performed, with Cotillard and Fassbender excelling in a thrillingly savage interpretation. The director's fervid sensory storytelling and inventive adjustments make it a standout Shakespeare adaptation.

Kurzel delivers a lean, mean and powerful piece of cinema that is devastating, with strong performances and visceral battle scenes rooted in the Macbeths' grief.

Justin Kurzel’s visually rich film is no slog thanks to sublime leads who convey epic sexual confusion and heartache, with a powerful opening funeral scene adding resonance. The director’s focus on children as pawns in adult power games creates intense horror, though some stylistic choices like red filters feel overdone.

Kurzel's gritty, earthy reimagining of the Scottish play adds psychological depth through invented elements like the Macbeths' dead children and PTSD, resulting in a vital, intense version grounded in visceral realism. The astonishingly powerful performances by Fassbender and Cotillard are singled out for praise.

The adaptation assembles strong elements for an intensely compelling work that filters the story through a modern sensibility with brutal violence and strong performances from Fassbender and Cotillard.

This brilliant, brutal Shakespeare adaptation recasts the Macbeths as damaged by grief rather than mere ambition, with Fassbender's electrifying, PTSD-haunted performance and Cotillard's subtle Lady Macbeth standing out amid the savage Highland setting. Kurzel directs like a spare, savage western.

Kurzel’s stark, brutal psycho-drama is a mighty screen Shakespeare that grounds the tragedy in the Macbeths’ loss of a child and excels in pin-drop moments amid sound and fury. Strong performances, especially from Fassbender and Harris, make it riveting despite some disjointedness.

Kurzel delivers an unforgettable, blood-soaked reassembly of the play set in a harsh 11th-century Scotland, with visceral battle sequences, strong visuals, and a modern PTSD sensibility; the central relationship feels imbalanced, with Cotillard's Lady Macbeth overshadowed.

Kurzel brings operatic verve and textual interpretation to the Scottish play, with Fassbender and Cotillard a charismatic dream-team pairing. The film is physical and exciting but unsubtle at times.

Kurzel makes a stark, shorn-to-the-bone version set in brutal 1057 Highlands, with Fassbender and Cotillard as a cursed power couple; the mood is simmering mania with a glazed, blood-weary atmosphere.

The actors salvage the film with Fassbender and Cotillard delivering persuasive turns in Kurzel's take on the tragedy.

Kurzel's Macbeth is a visually stunning and viscerally violent take on the tragedy that maintains the supernatural elements while emphasizing grit and immediacy. Fassbender and Cotillard's charismatic performances anchor the film despite some truncation of the story.

Kurzel's Macbeth is an assault on the senses with a nightmare atmosphere of blood and fire, excelling in visual and sensory storytelling though it leans heavily foul over fair. Fassbender and Cotillard deliver intense performances in this elemental adaptation.

The slickly handsome new Macbeth mutes some of the play's dark magic, complicating questions of fate and guilt, but Fassbender's exceptionally fine performance gives reason to see it. Kurzel's brooding palette and the leads' work stand out amid the carnage.

The film amps up the violence but subordinates the poetic language and soul of the tragedy to visceral action, resulting in a work that doesn't signify much beyond its brutal set pieces.

Kurzel's stagey pretensions clash with his aesthetic choices, resulting in tediously recited scenes and an adaptation that fails to reshape the material effectively.

The critic finds Kurzel's adaptation oversimplified and reductive, burying Shakespeare's poetry under grime and gore while leaving Fassbender and Cotillard with too little to work with. He singles out the flat, mumbled delivery of lines and the cheapening of Lady Macbeth's motivation through an added child-loss backstory.

The brooding, bleaker-than-ever take plays the tragedy in a minor key with muted performances and long pauses, but it lacks energy and comes across as dim and less lively than other adaptations.

The critic praises Kurzel's intense, visually sumptuous take that uses mist, smoke and stark palettes to immerse viewers in the story of murder and madness. He singles out Fassbender's internalised performance and the fresh, disturbing reinterpretations of iconic scenes.

Kurzel delivers a brooding, dense and consistently magnificent adaptation that layers rather than streamlines the text. The result is the heaviest, doomiest and darkest version of Macbeth yet seen, and also the best.

The critic praises Kurzel's visceral, blood-soaked reimagining of the play as a directorial triumph with fresh contexts for the soliloquies, gorgeous landscapes and adrenaline-fueled action. Fassbender and Cotillard deliver intense, psychologically convincing performances, though some dialogue subtleties may be lost in naturalistic delivery.

The critic hails the visually stunning adaptation and Fassbender's mesmerising, searing lead performance that grips the senses from start to finish. He singles out the intimate focus on expressions and the uniformly superb supporting cast, particularly Cotillard's sympathetic Lady Macbeth.

Kurzel finds a robust cinematic language for the familiar play, mixing Western and Game of Thrones vibes with powerful Scottish locations and an assault on the senses. The inspired casting of Fassbender and Cotillard puts both at the top of their game while the director deserves plaudits for sheer bravura effort.

The critic commends the bleak Scottish landscape (especially Skye) as a powerful foil to the action and the magnificent central performances. He singles out Fassbender's bristling, demented Macbeth and Cotillard's creepy, enthralling Lady Macbeth as the film builds to a strong climax.

Kurzel's Macbeth is a fierce, visceral vision with a superb cast that approximates a modern action film more than a cautionary tale. It features intense performances from Fassbender and Cotillard and striking visuals, though the hyper-modern tactics like slow-motion and violent effects are debatable.

Kurzel creates a visually striking hell of Macbeth's own making with strong performances and epic battle scenes. The film is too monotonous and hastens the moral descent without showing enough of the internal struggle between honour and power.

Kurzel's Macbeth is a fluid, breathless, and visually stunning film that is nonetheless extremely hollow and strips too much from Shakespeare's play. It works best as a sonic and visual calling card for the director, who substitutes the Bard's poetry with visuals.