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07/24/08
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The Emperor's Club (2002)
48
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:29
Fresh:14
Rotten:15
Average Rating:5.8/10
Consensus: Though Kline is excellent in his portrayal of Hundert, the movie is too dull and sentimental to distinguish itself from other titles in its genre.
Theatrical Release:Nov 22, 2002 Wide
Box Office: $13,954,465
Synopsis: At St. Benedict's prep school, the boys are disciplined, mannered, and ready to learn. But when a bad apple enters the classroom of the well-respected Mr. Hundert (Kevin Kline), chaos ensues.... [More]
Starring: Kevin Kline, Emile Hirsch, Steven Culp, Patrick Dempsey
Director: Michael Hoffman
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Reviews for The Emperor's Club
Top CriticClick to read the article
05/19/04
Top CriticKevin Kline perfectly cast to play this.
11/25/02
Top CriticThis isn't a stand up and cheer flick; it's a sit down and ponder affair. And thanks to Kline's superbly nuanced performance, that pondering is highly pleasurable.
11/22/02
Top CriticIt's a simpering, ineffective ersatz-drama, so simple-minded and unrealistic and so full of fussy stupidity, it exiles you.
11/22/02
Top CriticYou don't have to be an especially tough grader to give a charitable B-minus to The Emperor's Club.
11/22/02
Top CriticThe movie may not be worthy of an Oscar, but Kline's highly nuanced performance is certainly worthy of our attention.
11/22/02
Top CriticA substantial examination of character, morality and destiny.
11/22/02
Top CriticEverything about The Emperor's Club feels like recycled goods.
11/22/02
Top CriticThis is a film of enormous heart, compassion and intelligence that tackles vital issues with wrenching, thought-provoking honesty and cinematic skill.
11/22/02
Top CriticThe film has the uncanny ability to right itself precisely when you think it's in danger of going wrong.
11/22/02
Top CriticIf you stay with the story's overly familiar arc, there is an unexpected plot twist that redeems the film, and makes a valuable point.
11/22/02
Top CriticOnly two-fifths of a satisfying movie experience.
11/22/02
Top CriticKline has rarely been better, but the film's turgid pacing -- and a dreary romantic subplot ... may put off the young audience that would benefit most from seeing a very rare Hollywood movie about moral values.
11/22/02
Top CriticA sentimental mess that never rings true.
11/22/02
Top CriticIn the name of an allegedly inspiring and easily marketable flick, The Emperor's Club turns a blind eye to the very history it pretends to teach.
11/22/02
Top CriticHoffman waits too long to turn his movie in an unexpected direction, and even then his tone retains a genteel, prep-school quality that feels dusty and leatherbound.
11/22/02
Top CriticKline's performance shows a deep understanding of the character, who is, after all, better than most teachers, and most men. We care for him, not because he is perfect, but because he regrets so sincerely that he is not.
11/22/02
Top CriticLife, the movie concludes, is not as simple as most movies like it would have you believe, but it doesn't manage to make the characters complex enough to make this an insight rather than an axiom.
11/21/02
Top CriticThough the message of The Emperor's Club is not precisely what you might expect, it's an awfully familiar one nevertheless, a theme that's too comfortable for its own good.
11/21/02
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