Opiniões dos críticos

Whatever weirdo novelty originally existed in the film’s premise, and whatever grace Malkovich brings to the film... has been subsumed by the utterly gauche treatment Schwentke has subjected the material to... Seneca is a blowhard endeavor carried forth only by its own hot air.

Those who are hoping for a vivid adventure like Gladiator or Spartacus or even a campy hoot like Quo Vadis will be sorely disappointed by this bizarre effort to create a historical fantasia. John Malkovich has a rare starring role and acquits himself solidly enough. But it is harder to understand what motivated director Robert Schwentke.

John Malkovich is an actor so adept at delivering seething, blistering contempt that he makes the film almost watchable. “This clearly isn’t working,” Seneca says at one point in his attempted suicide. Neither does this film.

[Seneca is] a film that features a lot of empty posturing, extravagant wigs, distracting set design full of stuff that is inexplicably on fire in the background, and numerous over-masticated performances.

Watching John Malkovich elocute loudly and excitedly for 112 minutes may be a task too great for some, but the structure of the film rewards patience in allowing it to weave its strange magic... The novelty might wear off by the time the credits roll, but the fantastic recklessness of this unconventional biopic deserves praise.