Empire by Damon Wise

The dirty compañeros of the old Spaghetti West ride again in this stirring tale of hate, murder and revenge.

Total Film by James Mottram

Not the deepest western you’ll ever see, but it sure knows how to pack a punch (and fire off a round). Fans of the genre will get their kicks.

The A.V. Club by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

The Salvation never come across as a pastiche; the world of the spaghetti Western — that desertscape where filthy gunmen leer into frame and life is punctuated by sadism — doesn’t need winks or references to be appreciated, and Levring doesn’t offer any.

RogerEbert.com by Glenn Kenny

A Danish revenge Western starring Mads Mikkelsen, is a very real movie, and it is directed by Kristian Levring (“The King Is Alive”), whose sensibility is a little more nuanced than that of the sensationalist Refn, which is all to this movie’s benefit.

Christian Science Monitor by Peter Rainer

For western fans, watching this movie is like encountering an old friend after a long absence.

Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea

The Salvation is severe and bloody stuff.

Village Voice by Nick Schager

Emphasizing action over the spoken word, The Salvation doesn't break new ground, yet its murderous twists of fate are consistently compelling.

The Dissolve by Mike D'Angelo

It’s a welcome throwback, moving at a brisk clip and allowing its impressive cast to embody some cherished archetypes.

The Hollywood Reporter by Todd McCarthy

As in any classic Western, there are blunt pleasures to be had every time the tables are turned on men in black hats, as well as from direct, threat-loaded dialogue, meaningful looks, geometric arrangements of heroes and villains, and tense hunts for prey that play out both in rugged mountain settings and the tight quarters of buildings.

The New York Times by Manohla Dargis

This is, it’s worth remembering, a movie set in the American West that was shot in South Africa by a Danish director with a Danish star. In other words it’s another dream of America, feverish, lovely and absurd.

Variety by Peter Debruge

There’s really only one ingredient for which The Salvation is likely to be remembered: Eva Green.

CineVue by Ed Frankl

Nothing quite competes with the blistering opening scene, but The Salvation's cast of characters mean it's never less than a fun watch.

The Playlist by Jessica Kiang

A loving and in fact overly adulatory genre film which is not so much a take on the revenge Western as a deeply faithful recreation of it, at times so faithful as to veer dangerously close to pastiche.

Los Angeles Times by Betsy Sharkey

The movie has a few bursts of energy and invention — a cleverly executed jailbreak is one. But the story drifts and the pacing drags, failing to gather much steam until the final moments.

Entertainment Weekly

Green is officially the world’s best actress in bad movies.

Slant Magazine by Jesse Cataldo

The film achieves nothing more than hollow caricature, too caught up in dumb dress-up pageantry to accomplish anything else.