- Wally Hammond, Time Out, November 18, 2011
- Ben Kenigsberg, Time Out, November 17, 2011
Writer-director Andrew Dominik takes his time with the story, but his languorous pacing allows tension to build -- and permits the actors, Affleck in particular, to add nuance and depth to characters who'll seem familiar only at first glance.
- Bob Mondello, NPR.org, October 18, 2008
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is the story...of the moment in America when myth was murdered by mere celebrity and we were left, perhaps forever, with only the latter's meager consolations.
- Christopher Orr, The New Republic, September 18, 2008
One of the most meticulously detailed and original biopics ever made.
- Garth Franklin, Dark Horizons, January 15, 2008
Moseying along for 160 minutes, this revisionist western by writer-director Andrew Dominik makes a wan attempt to present the Jesse James legend as the dawn of celebrity culture in America.
- J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader, January 04, 2008
Above all, there's the sense of immersion in a world of harsh beauty whose time is running out. It's to be hoped that non-American audiences embrace this film: it's one of the year's very best.
- David Gritten, Daily Telegraph, November 30, 2007
A tremendously stylish, intelligent retelling of western myth.
- Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK], November 30, 2007
Andrew Dominik's sensational film debags a cherished idol. Tyrone Power, Robert Wagner and Roy Rogers famously played Jesse James like Robin Hood. Brad Pitt plays him like a poisonous Mr Hyde.
- James Christopher, Times [UK], November 30, 2007
A graceful, intelligent movie, and one that gives Casey Affleck a chance to really shine.
- Daniel Etherington, Film4, November 30, 2007
Apparently, all the world needs a hero and there is nobody better than Brad Pitt, with all his untouchable starriness, to fill those boots.
- Stella Papamichael, BBC, November 29, 2007
The plot's restless shifts in point of view mean that significant action and mere movement become hopelessly confused with one another.
- Sandra Hall, Sydney Morning Herald, November 17, 2007
- , In Film Australia, November 14, 2007
An extraordinary and visionary study of a legendary murderer's famous fate, within touching distance of Oscars.
- Ian Nathan, Empire Magazine, November 02, 2007
Dominik's portrait of the notorious, celebrated outlaw is cinematic, considered and poetic...The film is long and detailed, but so are the rewards
- Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile, October 27, 2007
Awesome splendor and a striking essay on celebrity reward those who brave the 2 1/2-hour run time.
- Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post, October 20, 2007
It's a view of the West beyond the myth that's worth enduring, if not relishing.
- Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel, October 18, 2007
The one thing you're not supposed to do during a Western is doze off.
- Tom Long, Detroit News, October 12, 2007
Compared to Walter Hill's 1980 movie The Long Riders, also about the James gang, this feels an underpowered affair. Indeed, compared to Dominik's own previous movie, Chopper (2000), it is impossibly meek.
- Anthony Quinn, Independent, November 30, 2007
Affleck and Pitt have prime charge of the tale's humanity and vitality. The first has nervous headlamp eyes and a wheedling, accosting intensity: he is like a homeless pet you would feel sorry for up to the moment it bit you.
- Nigel Andrews, Financial Times, November 30, 2007
