Critic Reviews

This version of Hamlet is raw in its emotion, incredibly natural in its performances, and heartbreaking in its conclusion. Even after centuries of retellings, the story still cuts deep, and Aneil Karia’s version proves that its power has not diminished. At the center of it all is Riz Ahmed, whose incredibly raw performance ensures this adaptation will be remembered.

It’s still the story of an anguished man grappling with death, transplanted to a different world and a different time but still exerting a powerful pull on our imaginations. In one way, it’s an abbreviated “Hamlet,” but in another way, it’s a pumped-up one.

There’s a rigorous chill to this Hamlet.

This Hamlet sticks to the narrative essentials to produce a terse, pitiless retelling.

Karia has Ahmed’s impassioned performance, one of his best, a committed and talented cast, often stunning visuals from director of photography Stuart Bentley, as well as his own imaginative staging to captivate the viewer.

The film has atmosphere and energy as well as a specific point of view.

The song remains the same, but it’s all in the way you play it. Karia, Ahmed and Lesslie prove that "Hamlet" still hits after all these years.

Riz Ahmed's fiery turn and a bold South Asian lens make this Hamlet compelling, even if uneven.

Thanks to Ahmed and Karia’s creative collaboration, this new version of a man caught between expectation and collapse, tradition and insurgency, love and fury will hopefully find its way to a new generation that has never experienced Shakespeare’s timeless story before.

With an exceptional performance from Ahmed and style meets substance storytelling, Hamlet is a journey worth taking.