Amistad

The film should have such a beautiful ending the moment the trial ends, but no, Spielberg has to push it to his trademarked melodramatic perfection. That makes me want to throw up. Yet he has absolutely brilliant scenes here. When you think about how McConaughey and Hounsou have been ruling the film the entire time, suddenly Anthony Hopkins comes along to prove his unparalleled mastery. This is a man who knows how to deliver pathos in a way that makes you believe him. One of the few. (12/01/2015)

No one but Spielberg can make a film like this: spectacular, impressive and riveting. The sequences from the slave ship in particular literally sent chills down my spine and I even I devoured every word of Hopkins's long speech, something that doesn't happen very often. They should make more powerful films about human wickedness like this, though this one is actually unnecessarily long and slightly fragmented in its encompassing message. (04/06/2012)

This masterpiece by Spielberg has been accused of being a three-hour academic bore, for me it's a three-hour gripping tale with a truly excellent Djimon Hounson in the lead. The scenes from the slave ship are breathtaking, unforgettable. Together with A.I. Artificial Intelligence a very undeserved flop for Spielberg. (07/21/2002)

I felt as if Spielberg couldn't catch the right wind in the sails. At times it’s very harsh, but there are also boring passages when the viewer is merely bored. Far from being as grand and attractive a spectacle as expected. And furthermore, quite unfriendly to the audience. (10/29/2004)

I don't understand how this movie flopped. It’s full of great actors, filmed flawlessly and with a priceless atmosphere. And that Williams soundtrack...! The opening massacre is one of the rawest movie scenes ever, and I never thought I'd find its perpetrators so sympathetic after two hours. But that wouldn't be Steven Spielberg. The whole passage with Cinque's trip to America is so evocative and moving that I am never able to hold back the tears. (01/15/2008)