there is fine acting throughout; Joel Coen has made a “Macbeth” that is sure to seduce audiences — one that, for all its darkness of import, is light-spirited, fleet, and intoxicating
the movie hits its stride immediately with a taut, athletic urgency and it contains some superb images; This is a black-and-white world of violence and pain that scorches the retina
stark but utterly compelling, this chilling take on Macbeth is a visually stunning tour de force. It's as good as you’d expect from this cast and crew, which is saying something
Joel Coen, his cast, and his crew give us just that—a well-executed rendition that will stay with you visually, aurally, and even spiritually, after the credits roll, thanks to the emphatically forceful dedication of the work they put into making it
Joel Coen's script stays almost entirely faithful to the original text. But he lavishes his version with extraordinary care and atmosphere: a stark, sumptuous retelling helmed by two titanic stars and shot in startling black and white
it's stage-bound in all the right ways, reminiscent of a much earlier cinema, when filmmakers barely stepped outdoors and wielded magic with shadow and light on soundstages. It's short, sharp and savage
furious and fleet, emotional and elemental, Joel Coen's stripped-down take on the Scottish play instantly secures its place among the most audacious modern screen adaptations of Shakespeare
Denzel Washington delivers one of the best performances of his career in Joel Coen's film, but it’s Kathryn Hunter who gives this film its witchy magic
a thrillingly original adaptation; Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand are fearless, and "The Tragedy of Macbeth" is an enthralling jolt of verse and just good old-fashioned dread
by Helen O'Hara [Empire Magazine ]
