The Lady

The Hollywood Reporter by

Besson responded to something in the story that prompted him to step outside his comfort zone, but exactly what that was is unclear in this well-intentioned but pedestrian retelling of a stirring true story.

The New York Times by A.O. Scott

Paralyzes history and human drama with relentless hagiography.

Los Angeles Times by Betsy Sharkey

We have a fumbling and fawning - if sincere - tribute to the living legend and a director who has never seemed more out of his element.

Variety by Justin Chang

This handsomely mounted picture is, at nearly 2 1/2 hours, far too long and indigestible for a film whose protagonist spends most of her screen time under house arrest.

Time Out by Keith Uhlich

Who would have thought that the man behind such wackadoo fantasies as "The Professional" and "The Fifth Element" was capable of being so bloody boring?

Village Voice by Melissa Anderson

Impersonally directed by cinéma du look pioneer Luc Besson, The Lady was written by first-timer Rebecca Frayn, whose script has all the elegance and nuance of Google Translate.

Slant Magazine by Michael Nordine

The goings-on can rarely be called truly compelling, even if they're almost always generally pleasant.

Movieline by Michelle Orange

There's something immobile at the center of The Lady, a kind of Botoxed biopic with an unlikely director - Luc Besson - manning the syringe.

The A.V. Club by Noel Murray

This is an inspiring and important story, but worthiness doesn't automatically equal quality. Had Besson looked for unexpected ways into Suu Kyi's life, or even had he indulged his old impulses and made a slick, surface-y Luc Besson movie, then The Lady might've been more memorable.

The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw

One of those agonisingly well-intentioned films whose heart is in the right place, but everything else is wrong.