Metacritic Movie Ratings
The Great Gatsby Reviews

A sample of reviews from critics across the country.

• 88

  out of 100

  Chicago Sun-TimesRichard Roeper

  Amidst all the fireworks and the cascading champagne and the insanely over-the-top parties, we’re reminded again and again that The Great Gatsby is about a man who spends half a decade constructing an elaborate monument to the woman of his dreams.

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• 70

  out of 100

  The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthy

  No matter how frenzied and elaborate and sometimes distracting his technique may be, Luhrmann's personal connection and commitment to the material remains palpable, which makes for a film that, most of the time, feels vibrantly alive while remaining quite faithful to the spirit, if not the letter or the tone, of its source.

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• 67

  out of 100

  Entertainment Weekly

  It's a dazzling time capsule of a shimmering era and a devastating look into the dark side of the American dream. Too bad Luhrmann, the caffeinated conductor, doesn't trust that story enough. He'd rather blast your retinas into sugar-shock submission. Uncle, old sport! Uncle!

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• 60

  out of 100

  VarietyScott Foundas

  More often, Gatsby feels like a well-rehearsed classic in which the actors say their lines ably, but with no discernible feeling behind them.

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• 50

  out of 100

  USA TodayClaudia Puig

  So much effort seems to have gone into the eye-popping production design, swooping camera work and anachronistic musical score that the result is hyper-active cacophony rather than enthralling entertainment.

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• 40

  out of 100

  The New YorkerDavid Denby

  Luhrmann's vulgarity is designed to win over the young audience, and it suggests that he's less a filmmaker than a music-video director with endless resources and a stunning absence of taste. [13 May 2013, p.78]

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• 30

  out of 100

  Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern

  What's intractably wrong with the film is that there's no reality to heighten; it's a spectacle in search of a soul.

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