All Critics (121)
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Top Critics (31)
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Fresh (54)
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Rotten (69)
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DVD (7)
Woody Allen cranks out another formulaic interweave of romantic crushes, with old jazz on the soundtrack to supply some artificial gaiety.
Classic Woody -- an ensemble cast of brilliant actors, a timeless story that could be set virtually anywhere and crisp writing and direction that neither lollygags or rushes.
A mirthless, joyless comedy with nary a hint of romance, mystery or justification for its existence...
Woody Allen may still be funny, but he's sure not much fun anymore.
It's a highbrow romantic farce, without the laughs.
At once a cynical examination of infidelity and a sweet love story that rewards good people, Stranger is thoroughly entertaining ... and Allen's best film since Crimes and Misdemeanors.
The cast is the main draw here, but it's also the movie's biggest problem. Hopkins and Jones are excellent, and a greater focus on that couple might well have resulted in a much better film.
How many times do you want to watch the same Woody Allen movie? What's your tolerance threshold for repeat visits back to his couch?
Maybe the next one will be a return to form for the living legend, and hey, at the rate Allen is churning them out, one of them has to be good, right?
Elaborately plotted, perfunctorily directed, unevenly acted and short on verbal wit.
Another wretched Woody Allen release gives yet another round of Hollywood actors the chance to tick him off their legends-to-work-with lists without giving us much to enjoy in the process...
Allen has said he makes films as they offer him a distraction, and he has created just that: An enjoyable but instantly forgettable distraction.
This is no Manhattan or Annie Hall, and while it's true Woody Allen isn't as good as he used to be, neither is anyone else.
The distinguished actors are as strong as you would expect, the narrative structure is well-crafted, and there's something curiously bracing about Allen's misanthropy.
A narrator alerts us at the outset that this tale is (to quote Macbeth) "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing". I suppose we should be thankful for the warning.
You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger is a typically wry, rueful ensemble piece in which love makes fools of everyone.
It's interesting and worthwhile, with creative vitamins that are absent in so much of what fills the cinemas.
Frothy but uninvolving. Again.
It's hard to escape the feeling that Allen has told this story so many times before - and so much better.
When I saw the words "Tin Ear Production Company" in the end credits, I wasn't sure if it was a joke or a piece of authorial honesty.
Woody Allen's latest comedy-drama features superb performances from a traditionally impressive cast but is let down by a disappointing script that seems to actively avoid dramatic impact.
There's plenty of ambiguous intellectual heft lurking behind the curtain of mediocrity - so it's a pity it feels like it was dashed off in a few hours one afternoon.
Though Allen has never been exactly feelgood, his previously endearing pessimism has given way to a mean-spiritedness that here borders on misanthropy.
Allen avoids giving any possible answers or resolutions - apart from 'getting in touch with your spiritual side'
Still no signs of the master re-living past glories, but more than worthwhile for Allen diehards.
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