Richard Attenborough’s biopic can be formulaic, but Downey nails Chaplin’s all-over-London accent (sometimes Cockney, sometimes posh) and his gift for sidesplitting slapstick.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 29, 2024

Personalities fly by, mostly in cameos, to heighten the sense that you're getting a lot of dish, but Chaplin feels more like a lesson than an entertainment; yet it doesn't teach us much. If you want to understand Charlie Chaplin, watch his movies.

| May 9, 2023

...a fairly standard biopic that remains wholly unable to capture (and sustain) the viewer’s interest...

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jan 24, 2023

There's no denying that Robert Downey Jr. turns in a stellar performance but Chaplin plays it too much by the numbers.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Dec 25, 2022

Chaplin remains a broadly effective and enjoyable film because of its stunning cast.

| Original Score: 6/10 | Jun 4, 2021

What is stunningly good about Chaplin, despite the script, is the central performance by Robert Downey Jr.

| Jul 24, 2018

Robert Downey, Jr.'s performance in extreme youth and decrepitude carries Attenborough's vainglorious project through scene after sketchy scene.

| May 2, 2018

Downey has a perfect ear for the Chaplin accent, the way it climbed from Cockney to minced posh, and a perfect boot and fist for the slapstick; the one thing he doesn't have is an eye on his own brilliance.

| Jan 3, 2018

Might be of interest to fans of the great comic, but as entertainment it ultimately fails.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 25, 2012

| Original Score: D+ | Sep 7, 2011

Robert Downey Jr. gives a strong, Oscar-nominated performance, but Attenborough's disappointingly formulaic biopic doesn't capture Chaplin's genius as artist or his complex life

| Original Score: C | Aug 16, 2011

It's a loving and often endearing homage to a man, but as with all things Hollywood, it ain't history

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Dec 4, 2008

The movie was clearly made with a lot of love, and it has one deciding factor that sells it: Robert Downey Jr.

| Oct 16, 2008

A sadly unenlightening attempt to profile the king of clowns.

| Feb 27, 2008

For all the movie's undisputed competence, grand and inspired moments are thin on the ground.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 27, 2008

Robert Downey Jr., does an impressive job as the title character, perfectly recreating Chaplin's range of English accents and mimicking, with astonishing precision, the gait and gestures of the Little Tramp.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Feb 27, 2008

With this reverential biopic, director Richard Attenborough has cranked out a many-reel, talky talkie.

Full Review | Feb 27, 2008

A lot of loving care (but not much thought) went into this white elephant, and considering how fascinating a figure Chaplin is it's never exactly boring, but your time would be much better spent looking at any of Chaplin's pictures.

| Feb 27, 2008

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 21, 2008

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 29, 2007