It is an intelligent and moving version of the book, with a good deal to say in its own right.

| Feb 12, 2021

Bar running through the dense plot at a rate of knots, it's not obvious what Newell or adaptor David Nicholls' 'take' on the proceedings actually is.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 3, 2019

Designs have an elaborate Pater-esque quality with an 80s Adam Ant twist, in a contemporary turn on Victorian garb. These elements work.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 23, 2018

This new adaptation is a tremendous success... It's refreshing that the story so often retold still has the power to surprise.

| Aug 10, 2018

Though "Great Expectations" is far from a letdown, it doesn't quite feel like it packs the punch its source material deserves.

| Nov 29, 2017

The film is always gorgeous. Even the realistic vileness of pre-sewerage-system London streets are a wonder to look at.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 31, 2016

This business-like adaptation hums along about as well as a movie can when it has no real reason to exist.

| May 5, 2015

While Mike Newell's adaptation of "Great Expectations" isn't a terrible one by any means, there just isn't enough here to make it worth the time of sitting through a story that's already been done many times over.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Apr 29, 2014

... has the feel of a very well done History Channel production. Which doesn't make it bad, only superfluous.

Full Review | Original Score: 83/100 | Dec 5, 2013

In a culture already awash with so much Dickens, another take on 'Great Expectations' needs to be a real pip (forgive me) to be worth the trouble.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Dec 1, 2013

It somehow feels more suited for the 'Masterpiece Theatre' crowd than for the multiplex.

| Nov 22, 2013

Its fidelity to the source and its stylish, though somewhat sedate approach make it a good, if not great, modern alternative to Lean's still-superb filmization.

| Original Score: B | Nov 17, 2013

The world can always stand to be reminded, even for the ten thousandth time, of towering art, even from those that include a boring lead who seems to go through a trendy haircut every reel.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 14, 2013

It's a handsome visualization, but it's no substitute for the book.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Nov 14, 2013

A BBC- or PBS-caliber television movie that, while atmospheric, does not have a ton of production values beyond Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter, giving boisterous performances in pivotal roles.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Nov 14, 2013

Helena Bonham Carter's Miss Havisham is quite the most fascinating incarnation of this character I've ever seen, and she's matched every step of the way by Ralph Fiennes as Abel Magwitch.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Nov 13, 2013

Missing the connective tissue that's served previous adaptations so well. Without dramatic strength, Newell has created a museum piece, best presented on mute.

| Original Score: C | Nov 13, 2013

The latest film version of Dickens' novel offers nothing new except a chance to see another generation of talented hams tackle its memorable characters.

| Original Score: C | Nov 13, 2013

The immortal classic could not be more relevant in its ironic title alone, to this age of economic crisis in capitalism and the trauma of downward class mobility. And with class uncertainty unleashed back then in both brutal and comical storytelling.

| Nov 11, 2013

It is skillfully made and adeptly performed; even so it doesn't really add anything to the canon.

| Nov 10, 2013