The great actors, from Welles onward, want the popular audience to see what they see in Shakespeare -- that he still matters, that he still moves, thrills and teaches. With "Coriolanus," Fiennes brilliantly takes his place in their ranks. full review

Shakespeare on a trip wire. full review

It's all very unnerving, modern and yet veins-in-the-teeth visceral. full review

As a portrait of modern warfare, politics and propaganda, "Coriolanus" is intriguing, even if the gritty action sequences don't quite measure up to the realism of "The Hurt Locker." full review

Ralph Fiennes turns one of Shakespeare's least-loved plays into a slashing, muscular but uneven modern drama in his film-directing debut. full review

Even in what is viewed as a minor work, the inevitable currents of ambition and violence, cruelty and competition, rivalry and rage run strong and truthfully. full review

When Caius Martius heads into battle against the invading Volscians, we get 20-odd minutes of brutal street-fighting with RPGs and crackling automatic weapons. The film was shot in Serbia; dial a few decades back and it could have been set there. full review

In his first film as a director, Fiennes proves that he knows Fiennes the actor inside out, with a self-knowledge that's rare, even admirable. full review

You buy the concept, from start to finish, because it feels strong and purposeful and in sync with Shakespeare's own vision of a malleable, fickle populace and a leader raised by the ultimate stage mother. full review

Visually and dramatically it works well-it's Shakespeare by way of Black Hawk Down-but as an allegory of modern-day geopolitics it doesn't really go anywhere. full review

For Shakespeare neophytes whose primary familiarity with the Bard has been through the cinema, watching Coriolanus may seem like unearthing a lost treasure. full review

What remains, in distilled form, is the poetry of violence and contempt-the source of the play's unfailing reputation for political threat and mischief. full review

The questions Coriolanus poses are so timeless and urgent they could be pullquotes from today's op-ed page. full review

It's a film of vigorous performances and provocative modern resonances, though it sometimes struggles to grapple with a grim, politically ambiguous, 400-year-old play. full review

Riches of character are revealed, with copious visual invention. full review

Purists may holler that Fiennes and screenwriter John Logan have cut the Bard's second-longest play into two tense hours onscreen, but the power of the piece is undeniable. full review

Fiennes directs theater on the grand scale, burning his characters down to expose the terrible beauty of the human soul. full review

I admired the movie even though I found it neither fish nor fowl. full review