Has its flaws, among them a certain self-righteousness and a complicated storyline, but it is never less than gripping thanks to its gifted international cast.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The New York Times by Dana Stevens
Trudges along the well-trod path of high-minded, schematic storytelling.
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
The story never gathers much dramatic momentum despite an impressive cast and a lot of dank Middle Ages atmosphere.
Emphatically acted, ponderous, and ultimately a little silly.
New York Daily News by Jack Mathews
Has so many ideas working in it that they all but suffocate its thin plot.
Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern
The crucial evidence has to do with rigor mortis. The movie's a stiff too.
Maddeningly dull. It works on the cerebrum while the rest of the body drifts off to sleep, and the dullness only intensifies as the film goes on.
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
The Reckoning, with a script by Mark Mills, demands close attention; it's a play of words and ideas crowding for consideration.
Los Angeles Times by Manohla Dargis
The Reckoning isn't great by any means and there are moments during the final stretch when it isn't even good. But for its first hour or so, the story moves at a steady clip, generating enough mystery to keep you guessing and enough atmosphere to keep you interested.
The Reckoning proceeds with such leaden literal-mindedness that it never seems more than a stodgy (and, at times, blatantly silly) paperback affair.