Critic Reviews

The film is big, brutal and beautiful — over the top at times and stirring at others.

Hamm’s adaptation of the material is competent enough, offering all the striking shots of the Swiss Alps and extra-laden battle scenes that any historical epic connoisseur could ask for. Bang checks all the boxes as a leading man, emitting the rugged sexiness and unflinching bravery required of a historical figure who transcended his own lifespan and achieved true immortality.

The acting is a bubbling fondue of clashing styles.

It’s entirely ridiculous, but performed with absolute seriousness and the result is an innocent amusement.

Offering a fresh take on a legendary folk hero, William Tell’s solid cast and engaging battle sequences will keep viewers hooked. Easy to overlook its faults with impressive sequences, performances and sharp cinematography, the film is an appreciated one for its throwback feel.

This old-fashioned tale of folk heroism and hardy underdogs benefits from solid performances and spectacular vistas, but it loses points for a sequel-baiting ending. 

The result, as hinted earlier, is a high-end B-movie that would have been in heavy rotation on cable television’s TNT or USA Network as a wallpaper movie in the ’00s. And there is something genuinely fun about filmmakers wanting to dip their toes back into those waters. But, for that genre to work, it needs to be less bloated than this and, more importantly, not end by teasing a sequel.

Despite the comforting pleasures of watching old-fashioned battle scenes waged with swords, axes and crossbows, Bafta-winning director Nick Hamm’s action film recycles the stirring spectacle of bygone epics without having much new to tell.

William Tell is most confident when Bang is allowed to commit to pulpy bravado, with long bellows of “No!” and “Go!” and an impressive 6’4’’ frame. He’s the tallest man in all the Alps; in a movie as silly and simple-minded as this one, of course that makes him the hero.

William Tell is a rare movie that I would argue should have been longer. If there's any story that could justify a three-hour runtime, it's William Tell, and the pacing would have benefited from this length enormously.