Great Expectations (2013)
Average Rating: 5.7/10
Reviews Counted: 38
Fresh: 26 | Rotten: 12
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 3
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 1
liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 2,510
My Rating
Movie Info
A humble orphan suddenly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor.
Jan 7, 2013 Limited
Lionsgate Films
Cast
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Jeremy Irvine
Pip -
Helena Bonham Carter
Miss Havisham -
Robbie Coltrane
Mr. Jaggers -
Ralph Fiennes
Magwitch -
Jason Flemyng
Joe Gargery -
Sally Hawkins
Mrs. Joe -
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Great Expectations Trailer & Photos
All Critics (38) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (26) | Rotten (12)
The chief reason to watch Newell's film is for the impeccable acting.
Top CriticA passable feature-length adaptation that does little to burnish the estimable screen legacy of a Dickens classic.
Vivid characterizations from Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter are the highlights of Mike Newell's traditional retelling of the classic Dickens novel.
Helena Bonham Carter does something with Miss Havisham that Martita Hunt couldn't quite manage in the brilliant 1946 David Lean film; namely, make it feel as though she never changed out of that damned wedding dress.
I enjoyed the gloomy English setting and was impressed by how many subplots they were able to explore.
A fresh rendering of the Dickens classic, designed to mark the 200th anniversary of the writer's birth, plays it far too safe to ever challenge Lean's definitive take.
Suitably grimy (if not as filthy as last year's Wuthering Heights), this is notable for its performances.
Remaking a literary and cinema classic can be a Dickens of a job.
Hits all the themes, twists and turns without ever really providing anything memorable.
You know what you're getting with this movie. Perhaps some will appreciate a nicely decorated, predictable take on a beloved book. I'd rather something riskier.
Newell retains the core elements of the story and key characters as well as the authentic elements of the period, but still manages to make the film a fresh experience
With its authentic production design and lilting tempo that seems to reflect the times, I really enjoyed this version of the film and the storytelling elements weave together naturally
Faithfully and tastefully performed, without ever threatening the legacy of David Lean's definitive 1946 version.
Even with lowered expectations it's far from great. What a shame.
Above all, this handsomely designed, unobtrusively edited and thoughtfully acted film moves at quite a clip ...
I love it when a film that is 'supposed' to be all stuffy and classic turns out to be this electric and alive...
There's plenty of verbal exposition to try give it some gas, but even from this launch pad, the finale lacks an emotional kick.
It may lack surprise and freshness but with so much talent involved you certainly wont be bored.
Enjoyable - as long as your expectations aren't too great.
[A] grim and cheerless adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic.
Others may feel they've seen it all before (at the press screening, the air was thick with yawns). But not me.
Even though Charles Dickens' oft-told story is livened up with a terrific cast and sharp script, it's difficult to see anything terribly new about this BBC-produced version.
This is a good-looking production. However, too much of it feels bland and flat. There have been so many previous versions that a new one has to justify itself.
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Foreign Titles
- Große Erwartungen (DE)
- Grandes esperanzas (ES)
