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Metascore
35 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 78Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovBenjamin Walker, as Lincoln, may not have the gangly gravitas of Raymond Massey's "Abe Lincoln in Illinois" – he looks like a young Liam Neeson doing a younger Bruce Campbell, frankly – but he does have a sly, self-effacing sense of humor that feels ever so Lincoln-esque
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertWithout a doubt the best film we are ever likely to see on the subject - unless there is a sequel, which is unlikely, because at the end, the Lincolns are on their way to the theater.
- 70VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangA Civil War-era actioner of questionable taste and historical accuracy but surprisingly consistent entertainment value.
- Genre enthusiasts will lap up the mixture of action and fantasy, while history buffs who don't mind a bit of rewriting will dig into an alternative spin on the Civil War period.
- 63Slant MagazineNick SchagerSlant MagazineNick SchagerThe script leaps forward with an absurdity almost as great as Lincoln's own strength.
- It's not nearly as snappy or campy as it should be-though its self-seriousness is its own kind of entertainment.
- 50Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsChicago TribuneMichael PhillipsIt sounds fun. It's a little fun. For a while. But Bekmanbetov shoots every killing spree like an addled gamer, working that slow-down-speed-up kill-shot cliche like a maniac.
- 42The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonThe A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonThe training montage where Lincoln learns to twirl his axe around his body like a baton for no apparent purpose is neither the movie's first laughable sequence nor its last, but it sums up the movie's aesthetic: The filmmakers mistakenly think nothing is silly if it's done with a grim enough facial expression.
- 40Total FilmNeil SmithTotal FilmNeil SmithWhat [Bekmambetov] doesn't do is offer us any respite from his 3D CGI barrage, an assault on the senses that makes the bullet John Wilkes Booth fired into the real Abe's noggin seem calming by comparison.
- 40Village VoiceNick PinkertonVillage VoiceNick PinkertonPossible resulting "fun" is only slightly mitigated by contemplation of the wearisome decadence of American popular culture.