53
Metascore
41 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawThis is a strong, fierce, heartfelt movie.
- 80VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeAnchored by an ultra-focused and unusually low-key Will Smith as Peter, Emancipation can be an intense and at times almost unbearable thing to watch, presented in meticulously composed, nearly black-and-white frames, desaturated to the point of Civil War photographer Matthew Brady’s grim battlefield tableaux.
- 80The TelegraphRobbie CollinThe TelegraphRobbie CollinEmancipation is a finely crafted, unflinching pursuit thriller about a slave seizing his freedom in 1860s Louisiana, and the first notable thing about it is that Smith is terrific in it.
- 63Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperChicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperDespite the undeniable importance of this story and the obvious passion of those involved in telling it, Emancipation is more than anything a relatively standard-issue, period-piece action film — and that’s a shame, because we see glimpses of how it could have been something much more than that.
- 60TheWrapCarlos AguilarTheWrapCarlos AguilarAs stark corroboration that this country was built on hatred and death, Emancipation successfully rattles you, but it can hardly be described as revelatory. Still, some could argue that today, as segments of society willfully wish to ignore the past and to prevent new generations from learning about it, a ruthlessly straightforward reminder is needed.
- 60EmpireJohn NugentEmpireJohn NugentEmancipation can’t avoid the well-trodden hallmarks of slavery stories, nor offer a particularly fresh perspective on them. It’s best when it leans into other modes — and when it centres on Will Smith’s outstanding, understated performance.
- 58IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichAmerican movie-watchers are used to consuming their history lessons with a heavy layer of artificial butter on top, but William N. Collage’s script filters Gordon’s saga through so many creaky Hollywood tropes that the over-cranked genre stuff begins to feel more honest by comparison.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeThe Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeThe drama feels flimsy when it strays from the swamps, rendering the politics of the time as almost secondary to the visual spectacle of a harrowing escape.
- 50Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangLos Angeles TimesJustin ChangThe more the movie pulls away from Peter’s perspective, the more it undercuts its own tension. And even with a physically impressive production at his disposal, Fuqua’s filmmaking instincts are clumsy and prone to cliché.
- 40The IndependentClarisse LoughreyThe IndependentClarisse LoughreyEmancipation never feels as if it’s truthfully telling the story behind the photograph. Or how one man’s pain became emblematic of an entire nation’s evil.