The MasterMovie Reviews

  • So-so Based on 6,607 reviews
    Breakdown:
  • So-so
    Written September 23, 2012

    Great movie, Be Prepared for What You Are Going to See Though.

    by

    Great movie. Great character study. Beautiful. Elements of ID and EGO as well as MASTER and DOG. Defining roles for both actors. But very hard to force yourself to watch, because no one is redeemable.

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Must Go!
    Written September 29, 2012

    Illuminating Brilliance of Phoenix and Hoffman

    by pz51

    Co-dependence is at core of cult subculture that bring together the needing-to-dominate narcissist and willingly subordinate as-if personalities. But it's the poorer boundaries of a more severe and impulsive personality disturbance that "inspires" (or reveals) the borderline qualities of a charismatic cult "master."
    The clan of "The Cause" can provide some shelter from the storm, not catharsis, nor redemption.
    Phoenix is transformed in his execution of this role, a compelling performance that should not be missed. Hoffman remains consistent in his mastery of character that meets the high bar and intensity of Phoenix's portrayal: rich, deep, nuanced, absorbing and complex.
    The cinematic qualities of sight, sound and pace immerse the viewer to palpate the psychosis and provide visual context for characters that have considerable turbulence just below the surface, leaving flotsam and jetsam in their wake, making this a "Must Go!" for the Cine-Buff/Art Lover.

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • So-so
    Written September 23, 2012

    Hi-brow Wonder without a story line

    by MovieManof49

    The critics think this movie is "masterful," and I see their points -- the acting is astonishing, the recreation of 1950 perfect, and the atmosphere consistently strange and uneasy -- but there's no forward motion to the plot, and I was left very unsatisfied at the end. It's frustrating when you leave a movie wondering what it was about, and have to read the reviews even to understand what the director was trying to do. That said, the acting may be worth the price of admission, though I'm not sure it's worth 135 minutes....

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Go
    Written September 22, 2012

    Masterful Performances

    by Kilgi

    The performances of Joachim and Philip along with Amy Adams are well worth the price of admission funny in spots poignant in others it is very deep movie!

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Oh No!
    Written September 23, 2012

    Skip it... you'll be glad you did!

    by onlygoodmovies4me

    Wanted to like it, gave it a chance and kept waiting for it to get better but unfortunately, it didnn't. Walked out after 3/4th or so and hope my experience will save you a couple hours and a few bucks... give it a miss!

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Must Go!
    Written September 23, 2012

    Dangerous

    by bajacalla

    "The Master" is a disturbing film about two dangerous men, one a megalomaniac and the other a psychotic. throughout the course of the story, these two men meet and form a symbiotic relationship, each one providing the promise of something the other needs. we see how they operate in their environments: The Master manipulates the egos of the people he needs to "sustain him in the lifestyle to which he would like to be accustomed," and Freddie Quell justs beats the hell out of everything. once again, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a character whose outward personality is warm, comforting, and engaging - as in "Doubt" - but whose inner reality is fetid. Joaquin Phoenix as Freddie is one of those WYSIWYG items: he is as dark and disturbed inside as his violent and repugnant appearance. the final question is: which man is the more dangerous? brilliant performances, both, but an adviso: if you didn't like "Dangerous Liaisons," you will hate this movie.

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • No
    Written October 1, 2012

    see it only for the acting

    by rhett

    Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman are brilliant, but that is the only reason to see it. The director jumps from one scene to another, scenes are not connected, and the story is ridiculous. I guess you have to really LOVE this director in order to like this so-called ART movie. My husband and myself, and the people in front of us were all looking at our watches. It was close to torture after about the first hour.

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Oh No!
    Written September 20, 2012

    Master - Bator

    by efpe

    This movie is pretentious piece of claptrap. The audience that I sat in at the Angelica Film center was actually tittering and groaning at some of the atrocious dialog.

    I had no idea what the movie was really about. If the Angelica theater really cared about cinema they would create an environment that one could actually enjoy a movie in.

    The projection was sub-standard, the sound was muddled and difficult to hear.

    My god I should have ripped the cost of the ticket up and gone out for coffe in the Village

    • 5 out of 6 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • So-so
    Written October 25, 2012

    Still wondering

    by ITCHICK68

    I was very optimistic about The Master. It has incredible character actors, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams. However, I am still very confused about what the point was. Was the point the bizarre friendship between Joaquin Phoenix's character and Philip Seymour Hoffman's character? Was the purpose to show the influence of the "cult of personality"? I felt that Amy Adams gave a bit of a chilling, dead on performance and I enjoyed watching her. I felt that the acting was great, but in terms of where I was supposed to be going as an audience member, I am still in the car, waiting on a destination.

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Oh No!
    Written September 23, 2012

    worst movie ever saw in my life

    by askbernie

    We go to 2-3 movies per week and have for the past 30+ years. We've only walked out on two movies ("Krull" and the first "Tron") and should have walked out on this one. But, kept thinking it would get better..... NOPE! Hodge podge of non sequiturs, no plot no redeeming qualities except for the impassioned portrayal of a sickly alcoholic and a narcisstic cult leader, who "made it up as he goes", which was pretty much the writing style. 2+ hours of anticipating something from 3 great actors that never materialized. "DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY" does not begin to cover it.

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Oh No!
    Written November 1, 2012

    You have GOT to be kidding!

    by toma393

    This was an awful movie. I do not understand the high ratings the critics gave it. True Phillip Seymor Hoffman was excellent - he's excellent in everything. I don't know what it was but people did walk out; I don't know why I waited until it was almost over to walk out. The character portrayed by Joaquin Pheonix was, I don't know how to say it, but disgusting fits. It's too bad I relied upon the 'critics' instead of what some of the ordinary people said. I don't know what the critics were thinking! This was the worst movie I've seen in the last five years, easily. Don't waste your money!

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Oh No!
    Written September 28, 2012

    The Master

    by brizl

    I thought that Iron Lady was the worst movie I'd seen all year until I saw this mess. What a colossal waste of my time and the time of the cast and crew of this film. There was very little information about "The Master" himself and a great deal about his sychophant, Freddie. This character belonged in a different movie, one to which I wouldn't buy a ticket. There was little sense to the story which was utterly without focus. At the bottom of it were excellent performances, but even those were not enough to bring this movie to a palatable level. We left thinking that the craziest person in this film was the writer/director, not any of his poorly drawn characters. There is nothing to be learned from this film, except "Buyer, beware!".

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • No
    Written September 24, 2012

    Great actors, bad movie.

    by LaurelRose18

    I was hoping this movie would be so much more then it was. About halfway through I gave up and then just agonizingly waited for it to be over. The movie was about nothing. It was like one giant preview of a movie that never gave away the plot. I could ramble on about how bad it was, but instead I am just going to strongly suggest skipping this one and use the hours that I wasted doing something better with your time.

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Oh No!
    Written October 8, 2012

    BOOOOORRRRRRING!

    by NedL

    Wow, this movie was a snooze-fest. The performances were fine, especially Hoffman (as usual) .... but gosh, it was like watching paint dry.

    And if Anderson wanted to make an interesting movie, he should have gone all the way with the Scientology metaphor and made "Master" take in a bunch of dimwitted Hollywood stars looking to fill the same kind of spiritual/daddy hole that the other followers in the movie did. And make the Master's organization a legally powerful group that would threaten and intimidate major media companies and individuals who went "astray"... now THAT would be interesting.

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No
  • Oh No!
    Written September 30, 2012

    The Master = Disaster

    by

    Wow, where do I begin. Went to see this movie thinking that two good sometimes great actors and a good sometimes great writer/director would hit. WRONG!!! This movie had no point...what was the story...the goal???? ANSWER? Who knows? Hoffman was a charismatic snake oil salesman i.e. cult leader. What happens? he gets ran out of NY, Philly, AZ, and I guess ends up in England. Phoenix is some kind of alcoholic psychotic (from the war? nah he looked like he made it through that ok making booze of out fuel and paint thinner and f***ing a woman made of sand...pathetic) he's just screwed up naturally. Does he find religion? Does his life change (for better or worse?) Nope he just drags his broke a$$ to England then doens't stay with "The Master" and will be his sworn enemy in "the next life".

    When the movie ended the 9 people in the the theate ( 1 guy had already gotten up and left) couldn't even tell if it was over.....what a waste. Thank god I went and saw Looper after...

    • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
    • Was this helpful to you? 
    • Yes
    • No

The Master Movie Reviews + Ratings

Fans say

So-so
6,607 fan reviews

Critics say

Must Go! See all critic reviews

Tweets About The Master

70% positive
Join the conversation

IanBenjamin11 Movie updates. Finally watched "The Master." Joaquin and PSH were great, of course. Amy Adams was nothing special. Bizarre storyline.

20 hours ago.

EgyptsLegacy345 So i finally saw the Lincoln movie....how cute the people that thought they was the master race decided the fate of black people.

1 days ago.

AllamaMurray The Master was a good movie. I recommend it. Unless like 27 Dresses is more of your thing.

1 days ago.

Commander313 who was the killer in the friday the 13th movie? ms morgan believe was her name jason's mother who doesn't know that who is the master of

2 days ago.

magnott You thought the movie inception was crazy? Read your Bible, Jesus is the master at inception. #MindBlown #again #messagewithinamessage

2 days ago.

The Master Featured Trailers + Video Clips

Watch All Videos

Exclusive Features

The Frontrunners - Amy Adams The Frontrunners - Amy Adams Fandango's Chief Correspondent Dave Karger interviews Amy Adams about her film 'The Master' in this episode of 'The Frontrunners.' More Films on Fandango's Awards Watch An inside look at Hollywood's race to the Oscars!