Nicolas Cage and Penélope Cruz are ill-matched, and the range of heavy accents is distracting.
Comment
09/19/08
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)
29 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 114
Fresh: 33
Rotten:81
Average Rating: 4.4/10
Consensus: The cinematography is gorgeous, but the movie plays it fast and loose with history and the novel it was adapted from. Mostly, the movie fails because the romance between the leads strains credulity and the story is largely uninvolving.
Runtime: 2 hrs 9 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Academy Award (R) winner Nicolas Cage (City of Angels) and Penelope Cruz (All About My Mother) star in Captain Corelli's Mandolin, an epic tale about the enduring hope of love and the devastating... [More]
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, Christian Bale, John Hurt
Director: John Madden
Reviews for Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Top CriticThe film's perfectly watchable, but it's never more than that.
02/09/06
Top CriticGorgeous to look at and well-played, it's definitely watchable, yet strangely uninvolving.
10/30/02
Obviously, the novel's sprawling, multi-strand structure has been streamlined here, but Madden and screenwriter Slovo have included so much subtext that it's still a remarkably complex film.
12/10/01
Fans will argue it's not as good as the book, but John Madden has delivered a pretty mooch around rustic, tranquil Cephallonia.
08/14/01
Top CriticWhat a droopy, disappointing film this is.
08/10/01
Top CriticI would love to know what kind of emotions were running through those who took part in the Cephalonia romances, and this movie doesn't help me much.
07/23/01
In its own right the film works superbly.
04/16/01
Top CriticClick to read the article
10/18/08
Strikes too many false notes on the dramatic side to add up to a satisfying emotional experience.
08/07/08
Top CriticOne of the year's most embarrassing big-budget miscalculations.
12/06/05
Click to read the article
02/25/04
A romance as spectacular as this novel is, it still has a difficult job making the leap to the screen.
05/20/03
...Touching and at the same time brutal, brimming with the emotional conflict that surges within its characters.
02/08/03
A lot of talent was squandered on this incoherent grab bag of war-movie moments.
10/15/02
A historical drama that simply fails to make convincing human connections.
10/10/02
Here's a film with all the right ingredients which somehow manages to taste bland as a hell.
09/10/02
The stunning look of this film took my breath away and overcame its shortcomings for me.
08/02/02
Yet another WWII love triangle that suffers from bad acting, but looks great!
07/09/02
...feels as if it has been manufactured in a chop shop of former Oscar winners and nauseating Miramax 'prestige' puff pieces.
06/21/02
Latest News for Captain Corelli's Mandolin
September 15, 2005:
Critical Consensus: Critics Thank "Heaven," But Don't Praise The "Lord"
This week at the movies brings us a supernatural romance ("Just Like Heaven"), a jaded arms dealer ("Lord of War") and two experiments in terror... More...
April 19, 2005:
Get Ready for Another Dose of "Basic Instinct"
You've heard it mentioned for years, but production is (finally) about to get underway on "Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction." A follow-up to Paul Verhoeven's sexual... More...
June 05, 2001:
Initial test screenings failed to induce awe. Universal, hoping for an Oscar contender, bumped the film from its spring release so that Madden could recut it. 
More...
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