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Venus (2006) Rank 5 Reviews

Expert Review Summary
Movie critics combined give Venus (2006) a score of 3.1889 out of 4
based on (54) reviews
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
Excellent
4
Excellent
(20)
Very Good
3
Very Good
(29)
Good
2
Good
(5)
Fair
1
Fair
(0)
Poor
0
Poor
(0)
Reviews by Score:
Venus (2006) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Spirituality and Practice (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)Spirituality and Practice (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
Peter O'Toole in an Academy Award caliber performance as a veteran actor who opens our hearts to the bounties of a life animated by kindness and pleasure. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Spirituality and Practice (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Baltimore Sun (Michael Sragow)Baltimore Sun (Michael Sragow)
Venus is a magnificent tribute to actors by filmmakers who know they are the essential human material of theater and the screen. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Baltimore Sun (Michael Sragow)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for New York Post (Kyle Smith)New York Post (Kyle Smith)
A sublime meditation that is one of this year's wisest, warmest and funniest films. ...read the complete Venus movie review at New York Post (Kyle Smith)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Newsday (John Anderson)Newsday (John Anderson)
The script by Hanif Kureishi is smart, witty, understated and fits O'Toole to a T. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Newsday (John Anderson)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Told with wit, genuine poignancy and all kinds of humor, Venus charts the unlikely relationship between a man in his 70s and a young woman more than half a century his junior. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)
The ruined beauty of Peter O'Toole permeates every frame of Venus , a movie that exists for almost no other reason than to allow us to worship at the altar of this incomparable actor. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for Reeling Reviews (Laura Clifford)Reeling Reviews (Laura Clifford)
O'Toole's glides through his performance as the twinkling debaucher like a dancer sweeping across a ballroom floor, light on his feet, making it seem easy. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Reeling Reviews (Laura Clifford)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus (Bryant Frazer)Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus (Bryant Frazer)
Peter O'Toole's Maurice isn't one of those stock characters, like the Lovable Codger or the Misanthropic Coot, we know from sweet Britflicks about lives begun at 70. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus (Bryant Frazer)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.64 out of 4 stars for Portland Oregonian (Shawn Levy)Portland Oregonian (Shawn Levy)
A man can be a treasure just as a work of art can be, and O'Toole is one of the handful of living film actors worthy of a museum of his own. Venus would make a brilliant final exhibit. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Portland Oregonian (Shawn Levy)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.60 out of 4 stars for Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
Witty dialog and a strong story keep it thoroughly entertaining, as do the sparky performances. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Shadows on the Wall (Rich Cline)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.60 out of 4 stars for Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek)Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek)
Venus belongs to O'Toole. This is, hands down, my favorite performance of the year, largely because I love the way O'Toole (and the filmmakers) refuse to yield to the all-too-pervasive idea that it's "icky" for old people to even think about sex. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Salon.com (Stephanie Zacharek)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.60 out of 4 stars for LA Weekly (Ella Taylor)LA Weekly (Ella Taylor)
Venus may be a leering male fantasy, but it is also, improbably but persuasively, a love story as tender as it is transgressive. It's a wry celebration of the tyranny of beauty, and the tragicomic way in which desire outruns the betrayals of dying flesh. ...read the complete Venus movie review at LA Weekly (Ella Taylor)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.60 out of 4 stars for Newsweek (David Ansen)Newsweek (David Ansen)
A heartbreaking comedy that is simultaneously funny and sad, raunchy and sweet, funky and elegiac. These fresh, unexpected juxtapositions are a specialty of the writer Hanif Kureishi ("My Beautiful Laundrette"), a sworn enemy of cliché. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Newsweek (David Ansen)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.56 out of 4 stars for Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)
The quiet respect Venus displays toward lions in winter, defanged though they may be, is rare enough; the film's respect for unfinessed lionesses-to-be is rarer still. Wherever they're going, no one here is going quietly. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.52 out of 4 stars for Philadelphia Inquirer (Steven Rea)Philadelphia Inquirer (Steven Rea)
The great thing about Venus - apart from its sharp eye for the daily routines and drab details of senior citizenry in a buzzing metropolis - is that it isn't soppy, or sentimental. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Steven Rea)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.52 out of 4 stars for Boston Globe (Ty Burr)Boston Globe (Ty Burr)
Venus is rollickingly funny at times -- but there's an undercurrent of extraordinarily clear-eyed sadness. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Boston Globe (Ty Burr)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.52 out of 4 stars for Chicago Tribune (Michael Wilmington)Chicago Tribune (Michael Wilmington)
Peter O'Toole, still a British cinematic lion at 74, performs another movie miracle in the Roger Michell-Hanif Kureishi film Venus. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Chicago Tribune (Michael Wilmington)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.52 out of 4 stars for New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
Peter O'Toole, looking frail beyond his 74 years, gives what may be his farewell performance as a leading movie actor in Roger Michell's Venus. It's one for the books - and maybe the Oscars, too. ...read the complete Venus movie review at New York Daily News (Jack Mathews)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Chicago Sun-Times (Laura Emerick)Chicago Sun-Times (Laura Emerick)
With wonderful testaments like Lawrence , Lion and now Venus , O'Toole will always live on. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Laura Emerick)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)
O'Toole gives a magnificent old-lion performance...in a role that allows both subtlety and theatrical vigor. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.32 out of 4 stars for Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Sean Axmaker)Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Sean Axmaker)
Venus is the second film from director Roger Michell and writer Hanif Kureishi to explore the sexual lives of folk that the movies treat as sexless -- the elderly. But where "The Mother" was a cold film of sexual greed and emotional pettiness, this ...read the complete Venus movie review at Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Sean Axmaker)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.32 out of 4 stars for The Onion (A.V. Club) (Noel Murray)The Onion (A.V. Club) (Noel Murray)
O'Toole is frail and probably won't make many more movies. So Venus is pitched partly as a fond farewell to a beloved artist, and his whole beautiful generation. ...read the complete Venus movie review at The Onion (A.V. Club) (Noel Murray)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Washington Post (Desson Thomson)Washington Post (Desson Thomson)
Director Roger Michell and writer Hanif Kureishi take a deeper, edifying interest in the moral ambiguities that arise between Maurice and Jessie. And thanks to our warm investment in both characters, we're more than willing to sign up for this ...read the complete Venus movie review at Washington Post (Desson Thomson)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Film Threat (Rick Kisonak)Film Threat (Rick Kisonak)
The amazing thing about Venus is that it's brutally honest about all this but at the same time funny as hell. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Film Threat (Rick Kisonak)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Village Voice (Jim Ridley)Village Voice (Jim Ridley)
Maurice, the protagonist of Venus, is a suit lovingly tailored to O'Toole's ravaged but commanding frame. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Village Voice (Jim Ridley)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for The New York Times (A.O. Scott)The New York Times (A.O. Scott)
Since the movie is about desire -- not so much for sex as for the vitality and surprise that sex can provide -- it is also about power. Few writers can match Mr. Kureishi's knowing wit on this subject, or his skill at dissecting the shifting dynamics of ...read the complete Venus movie review at The New York Times (A.O. Scott)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Daily Mirror [UK] (David Edwards)Daily Mirror [UK] (David Edwards)
Although a little contrived in places, and with some dialogue that probably looked better on the page, this is still enjoyable fare that proves there’s plenty of life in the old dogs yet. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Daily Mirror [UK] (David Edwards)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Empire (Alan Morrison)Empire (Alan Morrison)
A screen-acting showcase by a man whose best days, many thought, were behind him. There's life in the old dog yet. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Empire (Alan Morrison)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.20 out of 4 stars for Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)
This comedy drama is an exercise in self-indulgence for O'Toole, but an enjoyable and touching one. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Mark Reviews Movies (Mark Dujsik)Mark Reviews Movies (Mark Dujsik)
Peter O'Toole clearly has fun with the role of an elderly, veteran actor, but he might also be exorcising some personal demons. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Mark Reviews Movies (Mark Dujsik)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Christianity Today (Josh Hurst)Christianity Today (Josh Hurst)
O'Toole's luminous presence -- his grace and dignity, his humor and his gravity -- holds the film together and sometimes elevates it to greatness. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Christianity Today (Josh Hurst)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)
The recognition that Maurice is essentially an extension of the actor playing him reveals an undeniable poignancy that may be impossible to disconnect from reality. ...read the complete Venus movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Erik Childress)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))
Venus is a modern, vigorous movie ... ...read the complete Venus movie review at St. Paul Pioneer Press (Chris Hewitt (St. Paul))
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for USA Today (Claudia Puig)USA Today (Claudia Puig)
Peter O'Toole's tour-de-force performance makes Venus a movie not to be missed. ...read the complete Venus movie review at USA Today (Claudia Puig)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for TV Guide (Maitland McDonagh)TV Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
Though O'Toole, whose ruined beauty Michell emphasizes in frequent and tight close-ups, and newcomer Whittaker have a striking rapport, the film's most haunting moments pair him with Vanessa Redgrave -- amazingly, this is their first movie together -- as ...read the complete Venus movie review at TV Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for ReelViews (James Berardinelli)ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
This is a brave movie because it addresses a subject Hollywood feels uncomfortable about. ...read the complete Venus movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Liam Lacey)The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Liam Lacey)
Like similar English comedies, it also teeters on the mawkish. ...read the complete Venus movie review at The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Liam Lacey)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
[O'Toole] has the power to take this lecherous, sorry old fool and make us feel his weight, but also make him the most charming, most exciting fellow in town. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Hollywood.com (Betsy Bozdech)Hollywood.com (Betsy Bozdech)
Master thespian Peter O'Toole proves he's still at the top of his game in [this] poignant, complicated tale about mortality and passion. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Hollywood.com (Betsy Bozdech)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for San Francisco Chronicle (Ruthe Stein)San Francisco Chronicle (Ruthe Stein)
The suggestion that Peter O'Toole is playing some version of his real self in Venus adds a bittersweet poignancy to this quietly affecting British drama. ...read the complete Venus movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Ruthe Stein)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 3.00 out of 4 stars for Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
O'Toole gives a staggering performance -- fearless, defiantly untamed and in its own way a work of art. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 2.80 out of 4 stars for Maxim (Pete Hammond)Maxim (Pete Hammond)
O'Toole is simply remarkable as an aging actor still trying to live life to its fullest. He sets the bar way up there for this year's Oscar race. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Maxim (Pete Hammond)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 2.80 out of 4 stars for ReelTalk Movie Reviews (Jeffrey Chen)ReelTalk Movie Reviews (Jeffrey Chen)
Within this shamelessly but cautiously lecherous Shakespeare-quoting rascal lies O'Toole himself, proudly not ready to surrender to his own career twilight and the onset of his winter years. ...read the complete Venus movie review at ReelTalk Movie Reviews (Jeffrey Chen)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 2.80 out of 4 stars for TheMovieChicks.com (Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone)TheMovieChicks.com (Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone)
It's not a masterpiece but it is worth the viewing. ...read the complete Venus movie review at TheMovieChicks.com (Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 2.80 out of 4 stars for Variety (Todd McCarthy)Variety (Todd McCarthy)
Genuinely funny, randy and moving by turns, breezily enjoyable throughout. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Variety (Todd McCarthy)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 2.75 out of 4 stars for Film Journal International (Maria Garcia)Film Journal International (Maria Garcia)
Were it not for a brilliant cast, Venus would be too darkly anachronistic and unsatisfying to be entertaining. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Film Journal International (Maria Garcia)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 2.68 out of 4 stars for Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)
Venus has a swank pedigree, but in this case that doesn't mean it's much more than a quaint machine to elicit tears and awards. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for Slant Magazine (Dan Callahan)Slant Magazine (Dan Callahan)
A cleverly written but somewhat muffled paean to sensual appetite. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Slant Magazine (Dan Callahan)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 2.50 out of 4 stars for Reel.com (Gary Goldstein)Reel.com (Gary Goldstein)
If only the movie's story was on par with its grand, charismatic star. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Reel.com (Gary Goldstein)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 2.40 out of 4 stars for Pop Syndicate (Stefan Halley)Pop Syndicate (Stefan Halley)
Without the magic of Peter's performance, this film would never work. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Pop Syndicate (Stefan Halley)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 2.40 out of 4 stars for Boxoffice Magazine (Kevin Courrier)Boxoffice Magazine (Kevin Courrier)
Watching the bittersweet exchanges between O'Toole and Vanessa Redgrave, as his former wife, call up memories of a generation of British actors whose graceful style is quickly becoming a distant memory. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Boxoffice Magazine (Kevin Courrier)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 2.40 out of 4 stars for Times [UK] (James Christopher)Times [UK] (James Christopher)
O’Toole is a lecherous marvel, and worth every ounce of his Oscar nomination for Best Actor. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Times [UK] (James Christopher)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 2.40 out of 4 stars for Guardian [UK] (Peter Bradshaw)Guardian [UK] (Peter Bradshaw)
This is an indulgent movie and needs to be watched in the same spirit. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Guardian [UK] (Peter Bradshaw)
Venus (2006) scores a combined 2.00 out of 4 stars for Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)
This question lingered: why should we even be interested? Despite some negativity implied in the question, there are a few answers to it that suggest limited success. ...read the complete Venus movie review at Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)
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Venus (2006) Reviews
Venus (2006)

RANKINGS:

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Ratings and rankings are based on number of movie, review scores, awards & other criteria.
Overall Rating:
2.9350
Venus (2006) is ranked overall as out of 4 stars
Avg Critic Score:
3.1889
Venus (2006) is ranked overall as out of 4 stars
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