Helen Mirren is the feminised "Prospera" in Julie Taymor's adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest and her forceful performance makes it worth seeing, says Peter Bradshaw
A forceful and commanding lead performance from Helen Mirren anchors Julie Taymor's otherwise literal-minded adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest. She is the feminised "Prospera", in brooding exile from the political court of Milan on a remote island where she has cultivated the dark art of magic; ruling over submissive daughter Miranda (Felicity Jones), belligerent native Caliban (Djimon Hounsou) and the whimsical sprite Ariel (Ben Whishaw). When she discovers that her duplicitous betrayers are on a ship nearby, she conjures a tempest to shipwreck them on her little colony and take revenge. Mirren is a powerful presence: maybe gender-bending Shakespeare is the only way to give Mirren the movie roles she deserves. The rest of the time this is pretty conservative stuff. Worth seeing for Mirren, »
- Helen Mirren, Peter Bradshaw