30
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineTHE BRIDE must be commended for its attempt to tell two parallel stories, but unfortunately the halves do not balance, resulting in a picture in which the lead characters (Sting and Beals) become secondary to the supporting ones (Brown and Rappaport).
- 50Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasUnfortunately, for all the admirable respect director Franc Roddam and writer Lloyd Fonvielle (who co-wrote Roddam's "The Lords of Discipline") bring to their extensive reworking of the legend of Frankenstein and his bride, they're over their heads -- waaaaayyy over. The result is a film that commands affection for its ambition and civilized sensibility, but nonetheless provokes unintended laughter. [16 Aug 1985, p.C18]
- 50Miami HeraldBill CosfordMiami HeraldBill CosfordTruly, a modern fable in period dress...But boring. No other word for it. Director Franc Roddam (The Lords of Discipline, Quadrophenia) is a plodder. He can make dense films, ornate films, but he brings no special life to his projects. Here, he cannot escape the sumptuous confines his art directors have created or the too-rich images of cinematographer Stephen Burum. When the movie needs to race, it lurches instead, like the monster staggering castleward at the head of a torchlight parade.
- 38The Globe and Mail (Toronto)The Globe and Mail (Toronto)That the producer thinks Beals plus Sting equals big bucks at the box office may be the biggest contrivance of all. [19 Aug 1985]
- 30Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrThe crosscutting between the two plot lines is so feeble and intrusive that it destroys whatever faint narrative momentum the film possesses.
- 25Chicago TribuneGene SiskelChicago TribuneGene SiskelWhat a letdown! The remake of the 1935 classic ''The Bride of Frankenstein'' with rock star Sting as the doctor and Jennifer Beals as the reconstructed bride is a complete failure in telling its principal story.
- 20The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenMiss Beals's performance sinks this already muddled mess of a movie like a stone.
- 20Washington PostWashington PostWhat a bomb this highly touted union turns out to be...There is less drama than a Dr Pepper commercial, and its feeble attempt at camp makes "The Return of the Living Dead" look like a production of Stratford-on-Avon. [20 Aug 1985, p.C3]