The history is sketchy, the central questions unresolved, the romance is tepid and [Matthew] Fox is a weak, uninteresting lead.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 6, 2017

Emperor will do well enough. But if you want a more nuanced take on the same events, check out Alexander Sokurov's extraordinary The Sun

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 11, 2013

Hokey monologues about the finger of historical blame are interspersed with perfume-ad flashbacks to idyllic days of love; you half expect Andrew Lloyd Webber to descend from on high to provide a few touching show tunes.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 6, 2013

Solidly crafted. Totally pointless.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 4, 2013

Emperor is dutiful, patient and almost entirely without flair.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 3, 2013

It's all done with care and authentic Japanese locations ... But there's scant drama.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 1, 2013

Good intentions, vivid setting and TLJ on top form do not make up for a lack of anything truly compelling.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 29, 2013

A stodgy movie that mixes dubious history with a clichd, Madame Butterfly romance story, set in the period immediately following Japan's surrender in 1945.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 29, 2013

Emperor falls prey to the temptations endemic to historical docudrama: the desire to pack a miniseries' worth of events into one feature-length film, with romance tossed in for added appeal.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 28, 2013

Half crinoline romance, half crusty military-history lesson.

Full Review | Mar 22, 2013

Offers a labored treatise on the Japanese national character, with endless speeches about honor, devotion, loyalty, and the people's reverence for their emperor as a human deity.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Mar 14, 2013

Emperor, however, is so sophisticated in its ambitions, mature in its narrative, and expert in its execution that the film's failures are more honorable than fatal.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 8, 2013

The epigrams fly, but the movie never really takes off.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 8, 2013

Director Webber and the screenwriters, David Klass and Vera Blasi ... largely [waste] Jones and some very nice period details.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 8, 2013

The subject is intrinsically compelling, yet the central story is padded with an uninvolving love story that functions mostly as obvious symbolism about compassion for the enemy.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 8, 2013

Wrapping a history lesson in a romantic melodrama can make for a lively movie, but only if the love story is juicier than the educational narrative.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 8, 2013

Regrettably, "Emperor" does not match MacArthur's vigor, or mine his legacy. Instead, the movie is Fellers' tale and dryly told.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 7, 2013

In the end, probably the best way to watch "Emperor" is to pretend that the Supreme Command of Allied Forces in Japan after World War II was Tommy Lee Jones.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 7, 2013

Despite the promising setup, the filmmakers' execution muddles what's inherently dramatic material.

Full Review | Mar 7, 2013

Mr. Jones's performance is the only spark within this otherwise dull, well-mannered exercise.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 7, 2013