72
Metascore
49 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Screen RantPatrice WitherspoonScreen RantPatrice WitherspoonThe Color Purple is a resounding success with respect to quality and entertainment. From its messaging about sisterhood and self-love to its stunning filmmaking achievements, it’s a film that's easily enjoyed on the big screen. While the entire cast brings their A-game, Barrino, Henson, and Brooks steal the show with Oscar-worthy performances.
- 80BBCCaryn JamesBBCCaryn JamesThe Color Purple is a big, brash spectacle, an extravaganza blending the styles of Broadway musicals, Hollywood studio movies and music videos, with a mix of gospel, pop, blues and ballads, all of that coming together smoothly in one exuberant film.
- 75Entertainment WeeklyMaureen Lee LenkerEntertainment WeeklyMaureen Lee LenkerWith stellar performances and the foundation of a beloved novel, The Color Purple should be as lush and beautiful as its titular hue. Instead, it’s just… here.
- 75Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreCast and crew ensure that the film is a brisk, upbeat, feel-good bounce through a story that has become an American classic, and well worth a holiday family outing at the movies.
- 75IndieWireKate ErblandIndieWireKate ErblandThere’s so much to see in The Color Purple that this critic made the rare choice to see the film twice before reviewing it. The experience deepens, in both good and bad ways, with a second watch. The performances are better — Barrino’s subtleties are easier to track, Brooks’ absolutely star-making turn is even more dazzling and heartbreaking — but the overstuffed story sags more often and more obviously.
- 70ColliderRoss BonaimeColliderRoss BonaimeDespite its flaws, Bazawule’s strength behind the camera and an incredible cast down the line make The Color Purple a worthy adaptation.
- 60The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawThis heartfelt movie-musical of The Color Purple sugars the pill and softens the blow, planing down the original’s barbed and knotty surfaces, taking away some of the shock of violence and tragedy and tilting the experience more towards female solidarity and triumph over adversity.
- 60The New York TimesAlissa WilkinsonThe New York TimesAlissa WilkinsonFor the first two hours, it’s absorbing: big song-and-dance numbers and emotional set pieces, dynamic performances from everyone, and a feeling of reverence for the story and what it’s meant for 40 years give it gravitas and heart. . . Yet by the end it’s clear that the story remains slippery to would-be adapters.
- 55The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzThe Color Purple arrives as a confused byproduct of the industry’s best intentions and worst habits.
- 50The A.V. ClubMurtada ElfadlThe A.V. ClubMurtada ElfadlThe Color Purple offers some entertaining moments, however the sum of it is much less than some of its standout parts. Bazawule clearly had a vision in adapting this story once more, and he’s aided by excellent work from cinematographer Dan Lausten and costume designer Francine Jamison-Tanchuck, yet that vision never fully coheres.