91
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertJohn Huston's The Man Who Would Be King is swashbuckling adventure, pure and simple, from the hand of a master. It's unabashed and thrilling and fun.
- 100TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineA delightful and memorable film.
- 100SalonCharles TaylorSalonCharles TaylorThe triumph of the movie isn't just Huston's realization of a longtime dream to bring the Kipling story to the screen but the way he both honors classical movie tradition and brings it forward into a new era.
- 90The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyThe movie, which was shot in Morocco, looks lovely and remote (how did we ever once settle for those black-and-white Hollywood hills?) and has just enough romantic nonsense in it to enchant the child in each of us.
- 90The New YorkerPauline KaelThe New YorkerPauline KaelIt's a wonderfully full and satisfying movie, with superb performances by Connery and Caine.
- 88Philadelphia InquirerDesmond RyanPhiladelphia InquirerDesmond RyanThe way that power and wealth corrupt the spirit is a recurring theme in Huston's work, and it is served up here in a hugely entertaining fashion. [17 Mar 1995, p.11]
- 80EmpireIan NathanEmpireIan NathanHuston revels in he opportunity for old-fashioned splendour, granting the film the sunset glow of Lawrence Of Arabia and the swashbuckling cadence worthy of the Errol Flynn days. It’s the artful mix of Kipling’s own writing, flights of fantasy with a political core.
- 80Time OutTime OutConnery and Caine (both excellent) become classic Huston overreachers, and echoes of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Moby Dick permeate the mythic yarn.