--- title: "Romeo + Juliet: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/romeo-juliet/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/romeo-juliet" critics_score: 79 critics_reviews: 6 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." --- # Romeo + Juliet (1996): what the critics said Critics' score 79 from 6 reviews: 4 positive, 1 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, praising the energy and visual invention of an adaptation that keeps Shakespeare’s dialogue while giving the lovers a modern setting. Praise clusters around the sets, costumes and compositions, and around Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, whose chemistry and vulnerability give the spectacle emotional weight. The favourable reviews see the pop music, rapid editing and irreverence as ways of making the play accessible without losing its passions. The spread is wide, however, with the same stylistic choices prompting enthusiasm, qualified admiration and outright rejection. Variety finds that posturing too often substitutes for storytelling, though it praises Danes’ spontaneity. Collider questions the young actors’ handling of the language and the MTV-style editing, while The Ringer rejects the film as a poorly paced mess with nostalgic appeal. The central disagreement is how much the frantic presentation helps the love story, and how often it gets in its way. ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★★★. 27 March 2026. The critic argues that Luhrmann’s frenetic adaptation is not a mess but one of the greatest Shakespeare movies, praising the crackling chemistry between DiCaprio and Danes. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/romeo-and-juliet-film-review-baz-luhrmann-nt9w3v00c) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 March 2026. The critic calls Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film a terrific success that remains a sunburst of energy and instinctively respectful to Shakespeare’s story. They single out the irreverent yet grounded approach and the performances, especially Leonardo DiCaprio’s Romeo. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/mar/26/william-shakespeares-romeo-juliet-review-baz-luhrmann-leonardo-dicaprio-claire-danes) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 26 May 2022. Baz Luhrmann’s gleefully cinematic version of the play is relentlessly inventive and innovative. It sticks with the original dialogue while making the adaptation visual through striking sets, costumes, and compositions that evoke wealth, poverty, love, hate and other forces in a post-punk, multi-ethnic Verona; DiCaprio and Danes steal the honours as the vulnerable, impassioned leads. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/william-shakespeares-romeo-juliet-1996) ## Radio Times — Andrew Collins Rating 4/5. Baz Luhrmann's flamboyantly hip, achingly modern and unashamedly teen-targeted update transplants the lovers to MTV-era Verona Beach with gang warfare, raves and party drugs while keeping the dialogue true to the text. A bold, infectious and courageous Shakespeare adaptation that made DiCaprio a teen pin-up and minted Luhrmann as a master showman. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-hsxxn2/william-shakespeares-romeo-juliet/) ## Empire — Bob McCabe 1 January 2000. The critic praises Luhrmann's bold, inventive update of Shakespeare to a modern setting with guns and corporations, highlighting the strong performances by DiCaprio and Danes and the accessible, visual storytelling. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/william-shakespeare-romeo-juliet-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan 1 November 1996. The critic finds the brash, excessive film loud and exuberant with positive energy that makes it irresistible despite its flaws. It singles out Claire Danes' fresh and natural performance as Juliet for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-11-01-ca-59839-story.html) ## Slant Magazine 29 March 2002. The critic hails the film as Luhrmann’s true masterpiece and a quintessential marker of a generation that mixes MTV-style editing and pop music with Shakespeare’s language to reach new audiences. The preserved dialogue and visual updating of the story’s subtext are singled out as effective. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/william-shakespeares-romeo-juliet/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Hunter 28 October 1996. The critic calls it a clever and well-executed reworking of the tragedy that captures the passionate emotions of youth through a modern setting. DiCaprio and Danes are singled out as superb leads who handle the Elizabethan dialogue convincingly amid the guns-and-cars world. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/romeo-juliet-review-movie-1996-1248607/) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin 1 November 1996. The critic views Luhrmann's frenetic adaptation as a witty, uneven experiment in reinventing Shakespeare through post-modern kitsch and pop iconography. It praises the bold stylistic choices but notes the results are headache-inducing and mixed in success. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/01/movies/soft-what-light-it-s-flash-romeo.html) ## Total Film 28 March 1997. The review lauds the film's radical, visual reinvention of the play in a Mexican corporate setting with modern elements, calling it a rich, rude, violent ride that makes Shakespeare accessible, though noting some sacrifices in the language delivery. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/william-shakespeares-romeo-and-juliet-review/) ## Variety — Variety Staff 27 October 1996. The review describes the film as aggressively modern and trendy but flawed, striking yet silly, with stylistic attitudinizing often substituting for traditional storytelling strengths. It highlights Claire Danes' youthful purity and spontaneity as the standout element amid the cacophony. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1996/film/reviews/william-shakespeare-s-romeo-juliet-1200447070/) ## Collider — Adam Chitwood Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 5 November 2010. The critic finds the film entertaining as a modern adaptation exercise despite issues with young actors delivering Shakespearean dialogue and MTV-style editing. Pete Postlethwaite's precise performance as Friar Laurence is singled out for praise as elevating the film. [Read the review](https://collider.com/romeo-and-juliet-review-blu-ray/) ## The Ringer — Allison P. Davis Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 1 November 2016. The critic concludes the film is not good and a mess with questionable acting and pacing issues, though it holds nostalgic appeal. Young Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, along with the fish tank scene, are singled out as highlights. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2016/11/01/movies/baz-luhrmann-romeo-juliet-20th-anniversary-4c9f63053447) --- © 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/romeo-juliet.md