...solid dependable retelling of an oft-told tale, it doesn’t do anything radical with the material but gets by on well mounted set-pieces and Ford’s grizzled gravitas.
...has the capacity to entertain and move, well over a century after the story first was published. And Ford’s presence and performance inject it with a wild heart it desperately needs.
...best if considered as a highly sophisticated blend of live action and animation. Taken as such, it should please family audiences; it’s a handsomely mounted, stirring adventure.
Ford (...) is as authentic as they come. In playing John Thornton, he's given us the guy we believe him to be: a little cranky, a little wise, and a whole lot of wonderful.