Agora Reviews

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Brandon Judell
indieWire
October 31, 2012
A humorless feminist toga epic that fascinates with its intelligence and its abhorrence of the birth of Judeo/Christian culture.
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Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald
January 31, 2011
All brain, no heart.
Original Score: 2/4
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Cliff Doerksen
Chicago Reader
January 3, 2011
This Spanish-produced period drama is pretty dreadful: the drama is torpid, the astronomy lessons pedantic, and the spear-and-sandal production values flat-out cheesy.
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Jim Schembri
The Age (Australia)
November 17, 2010
Alejandro Amenábar creates a palpable sense of place and never strays too far from his duty to stage big, sense-filling set pieces.
Original Score: 3/5
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Jonathan F. Richards
Film.com
September 21, 2010
Although the movie's history is spotty, its dialogue is sometimes clunky, and time frames are telescoped, its overall impact packs a powerful punch.
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Tom Long
Detroit News
August 13, 2010
Manages to mix philosophy, history, hysteria and a love triangle and still be something of a bore.
Full Review | Original Score: C-
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Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
July 23, 2010
Agora, Alejandro Amenabar's absorbing historical drama, proves that, in an era of movies made for iPhones with artistic ambitions to match, there are still filmmakers willing to swing for the fences.
Original Score: 3/4
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Peter Hartlaub
San Francisco Chronicle
July 22, 2010
An interesting but often frustrating effort by the director of The Sea Inside, who proves that ambition and talent aren't enough to ensure a compelling drama.
Full Review | Original Score: 2/4
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Tom Keogh
Seattle Times
July 22, 2010
A strikingly physical as well as thoughtful drama.
Original Score: 3.5/4
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Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer
July 22, 2010
Agora is entertaining, and even at times illuminating.
Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4
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Ty Burr
Boston Globe
July 22, 2010
It's still more than watchable thanks to the ministrations of a talented director, Spain's Alejandro Amenábar, but the togas seem to have brought out the stiff, declamatory earnestness in everyone.
Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4
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Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
July 22, 2010
I went to see Agora expecting an epic with swords, sandals and sex. I found swords and sandals, some unexpected opinions about sex, and a great deal more.
Full Review | Original Score: 3/4
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Dana Stevens
Slate
July 7, 2010
The human story of Agora is not only smaller in scale than the sweep of geohistory but considerably less interesting.
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Kate Muir
Times (UK)
July 7, 2010
Agora feels like an overlong school trip to the planetarium, followed by a Romans-in-togas play in the gym.
Full Review | Original Score: 2/5
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Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
June 17, 2010
With fire in her eyes and the riddle of the solar system in her brain, Weisz struggles in fleshing out a historical character well worth a movie, though frustratingly sketchy as written here.
Original Score: 2/4
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Michael Phillips
At the Movies
June 14, 2010
I wish the movie kind of caught fire for me.
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Jennie Punter
Globe and Mail
June 11, 2010
This lavish Spanish production begins to plod after a brisk, lively first half.
Full Review | Original Score: 2/4
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Linda Barnard
Toronto Star
June 10, 2010
The biggest problem is that Gil and Amenábar haven't been able to make the script hold together and there are times, especially with the love triangle, when things veer into the cheesy.
Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4
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A.O. Scott
New York Times
May 28, 2010
The skeptical and the secular also need stories of martyrdom and rousing acts of cinematic preaching.
Original Score: 3/5
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V.A. Musetto
New York Post
May 28, 2010
There are a few exciting battle sequences and the sets are lavish, but mostly the film meanders aimlessly for more than two hours. No wonder new sword-and-sandal movies are in short supply.
Full Review | Original Score: 1/4
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