There Will be BloodMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 92 out of 100 Universal acclaim Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 OK for kids 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    The Hollywood Reporter |

    Daniel Day-Lewis stuns in Paul Thomas Anderson's saga of a soul-dead oil man. Read full review

  • 100
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    A searing, apocalyptic and finally breathtaking drama. Read full review

  • 100
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    In terms of excitement, imagination and rule-busting experimentation, it's a gusher. Read full review

  • 100
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    The film is above all a consummate work of art, one that transcends the historically fraught context of its making, and its pleasures are unapologetically aesthetic. It reveals, excites, disturbs, provokes, but the window it opens is to human consciousness itself. Read full review

  • 100
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    Boldly and magnificently strange, There Will Be Blood marks a significant departure in the work of Paul Thomas Anderson. Read full review

  • 100
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    For bleakness, the movie can't be beat -- nor for brilliance. Read full review

  • 90
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    It's important to remember that Sinclair was as much a committed socialist as a novelist, someone who probably wrote for political purpose more than for dramatic effect. So while Day-Lewis' gorgeous acting largely disguises it, the people in "Blood" tend to be schematic and the film as a whole has a weakness for the didactic. Read full review

  • 88
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    The kind of film that is easily called great. I am not sure of its greatness. It was filmed in the same area of Texas used by "No Country for Old Men," and that is a great film, and a perfect one. But There Will Be Blood"is not perfect, and in its imperfections we may see its reach exceeding its grasp. Which is not a dishonorable thing. Read full review

  • 88
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    A searingly intense and artful tale that grabs hold of the viewer from its jarring and wordless opening scenes and doesn't let go. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Anderson almost brings off a picture worthy of his grandiose ambition. Read full review

View more reviews for There Will be Blood on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 16+ Slow-moving, somber drama is too mature for kids.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that most teens probably won't be clamoring to see this slow-moving, somber drama about mature, sometimes abstract themes like capitalism and religion as driving forces in 19th- and early 20th-century America. Violence includes mining and oil well accidents (explosions, flames, a couple of deaths), several fights (hitting and kicking), and a shooting (abrupt and disturbing). The blood referenced in the title comes at the end of the movie, during a protracted, brutal struggle. Some drinking and smoking; language includes "hell" and damn."
  • Families can talk about the movie's messages. Is there a clearly defined "good guy" or "bad guy"? Do characters that offer a mix of both qualities more accurately reflect real life? If so, why do you think TV shows and movies don't feature characters like that more often? How are Daniel and Eli both alike and at odds?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Daniel, the designated "capitalist," is a greedy, calculating man whose disdain for others only grows more pronounced as the film proceeds; the "man of god" is also conniving and power-mad; at last, Daniel's son breaks away, though he does so by competing with his father in business, exactly what his father hates most.
What to watch for
  • violence false5 Violence: Early on, Daniel is injured in a mining accident (his leg is pierced by a tool, and there's some blood). Several oil drilling accidents, a couple with explosions and flames; two accidents kill workers (brief explosions, bodies shown) and one injures a young boy (his body is slammed and unconscious, and he's left deaf). An angry Daniel slaps and hits H.W. Eli attacks his father, trying to strangle him. Daniel attacks Eli, kicking and hitting him, dragging him into an oil pool. Murder committed by gunfire (no blood visible). Eli slaps Daniel hard and repeatedly during a baptism. A brutal, bloody murder is committed at the film's end.
  • sex false0 Sex: Daniel and Henry visit a brothel -- kissing couples appear in the background.
  • language false0 Language: Language includes "hell," "damn," and "ass."
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Some thematic commercialism -- the film follows the building of an oil empire.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Daniel quiets infant H.W. by pouring whiskey into his bottle and, years later, gives him whiskey to make him sleep. Daniel drinks repeatedly, several times to the point of passing out; Henry drinks a few times as well. Daniel smokes cigarettes and a pipe, as do his right-hand man and several background characters.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

5.0

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It's one of the best movies anyone's made all year. Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

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