A jigsaw of intimate relationships and betrayals during wartime with more than a few pieces missing. full review

Joffe, working from his own script, presents the men's lives as evidence of difficult choices, but this pedantic movie is never fully invested in any of them. full review

Few films about the Spanish Civil War have been any good -- Pan's Labyrinth being the big exception. full review

Joffe is out of depth when it comes to Escriva's religious experiences. It's clear he wants the film to show how faith works within us, but he does it by resorting to the most hackneyed imagery. full review

Clunk, clunk, squish. That is the sound of the dead language in Roland Joffe's screenplay for "There Be Dragons" as it tramples his would-be epic of the Spanish Civil War into an indigestible pulp. full review

I like grandeur and richly nuanced storytelling. I also like lobster bisque. But I don't want to drink a gallon of it in a single sitting. full review

Even actor's actor Derek Jacobi, as a Jewish factory owner, is wasted in this international muddle of a movie. full review

"Dragons" may have seemed less out of place three decades ago, but it would have been a bad movie then as well. full review

Dragons may not be perfect, but it plays to the helmer's strengths, demonstrating an increasingly rare sense of scope and pageantry best served by the bigscreen. full review

"Inspired by true events'' the opening credits say. "Time to count the factual silverware,'' the moviegoer mutters. full review

Bernardo Bertolucci and David Lean used to make movies like this. More, please. full review

A muddled and unsatisfying film - "Doctor Zhivago" without the majesty, "Reds" without the passion or romance. full review

[A] florid, convoluted historical drama from writer-director Roland Joffe... full review

The geriatric pacing, flat-footed Old Hollywood pastiche, and Joffe's inexplicable penchant for tear-jerking Catholic mysticism make Dragons more punishing than a hundred Hail Marys. full review

The film's title, "There Be Dragons," is lifted from the way ancient maps warned of dangers to be found within uncharted territory. Joffe should have paid heed. full review