70
This new version, directed by Danish filmmaker Michael Noer, brings to the story a refreshing intensity and sweep, and even a sense of adventure.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
60
The Guardian by Charles Bramesco
Hunnam and Malek both hold up their end of the deal. Noer, for his part, meets them halfway by conjuring golden-hued beauty for the jungle surroundings and a due griminess for the danker chambers of their holding compound. He doesn’t overcomplicate things for himself, keeping the clunky dialogue to a minimum and focusing on the guiding light of Papi’s indomitable willpower.
50
Entertainment Weekly by Chris Nashawaty
As for the new Papillon, it wisely doubles down on high adventure, but it’s still as lifeless as its predecessor. Just in different ways.
50
This remake proffers the sort of cinematic nowhere place that's all too common of an increasingly corporate, globalized cinema.
70
On its own terms, Noer’s adventure is ultimately a dramatic and dynamic-enough telling of an indelible fact-based story to connect with viewers.
75
The Film Stage by Jared Mobarak
Noer isn’t interested in the pulpy, wannabe mythic journey of Papillon when there’s a meatier through-line highlighting our humanity in dire straits. Rather than make his film about how far our bodies can go, he seeks to portray the lengths are hearts will.
40
The Hollywood Reporter by Jordan Mintzer
There’s no real voice in the storytelling, nothing distinctive about the imagery, if it’s not a doubling up on the violence and gore, and the result doesn’t remotely resonate in the same way.
25
The Playlist by Kevin Jagernauth
With no unique viewpoint on the story of its own, it’s perplexing why Papillon went in front of cameras at all.
37
Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan
The only real crime here is the debasement of a great film’s name.
50
Screen International by Tim Grierson
The remake of Papillon doesn’t lack for potential metaphorical riches, yet this brutal, bruising film never quite connects with its deeper themes, resulting in a story full of suffering but not enough transcendence.