Much Ado About Nothing (2012) | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

86% Tomatometer 176 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings

After a successful campaign against his rebellious brother, Don John (Sean Maher), Don Pedro (Reed Diamond) visits the governor of Messina. With him are Benedick (Alexis Denisof) and Claudio (Fran Kranz). While there, Claudio falls for the governor's daughter, Hero (Jillian Morgese), while Benedick engages in a war of words with Beatrice (Amy Acker), the governor's niece. While Don Pedro tries to trick Benedick and Beatrice into falling in love, Don John tries to tear Claudio and Hero apart.

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Much Ado About Nothing

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Critics Consensus

Lighthearted to a fault, Much Ado About Nothing's giddy energy and intimate charm make for an entertaining romantic comedy -- and a Shakespearean adaptation that's hard to resist.

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Critics Reviews

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Much Ado About Nothing (2012) | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Sophie Mayer Sight & Sound DP Jay Hunter's camera floats like a butterfly through doorways and windows, stinging as it catches characters in moments of eavesdropping-inspired stunned epiphany. Apr 4, 2018 Full Review Much Ado About Nothing (2012) | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Larushka Ivan-Zadeh metro.co.uk Fizzing with giddy energy, this is the freshest, finest Shakespeare movie version of the 21st century. Rated: 4/5 Sep 5, 2017 Full Review Much Ado About Nothing (2012) | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Jason Bailey Flavorwire Loose, enjoyable, and sparkling, it's a movie that lives for the sound of clinking wine glasses and snappy patter. Jun 21, 2016 Full Review Much Ado About Nothing (2012) | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies Its playful and energetic melodrama is a blast. Rated: 4.5/5 Aug 24, 2022 Full Review Much Ado About Nothing (2012) | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review To keep Shakespeare timely is the task sought after by every new adaptation, and Much Ado About Nothing belongs on a short list of films to celebrate the relevance of Shakespeare in cinema. Rated: 4/4 Aug 22, 2022 Full Review Much Ado About Nothing (2012) | Rotten Tomatoes (6) David Walsh World Socialist Web Site Four hundred years later, the playwright's powerful, beautiful, utterly sincere thoughts and emotions continue to affect us. Feb 12, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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John A A bit similar to the work of an advanced film student. That is not a bad thing in the slightest. Choosing to not shoot in color and not hyper-modernize the dialogue are fascinating directorial moves to make along with the abundant handheld camera work. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/24/25 Full Review Hannah S not a single person in this film knows what meter is or who shakespeare is. awful. Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/28/23 Full Review Audience Member This was the worst movie I had ever seen for years. Until an extremely low budget movie called Powerbomb starring an independent pro wrestler came out and I watched that. It finally beat this out after decades, but this still remains by far #2 closely behind. It's atrociously boring and the way the people talk made me want to plug my ears. TERRIBLE movie. Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Funny, intelligent and sensitive view on accepting goodbyes. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member To be honest I found the world building of this version of Much Ado to be lacking.Wheaton establishes a very modern world in which Beatrice has a sexual encounter/relationship with Benedict that they did not hide and her family seems to know about. Yet Beatrice is still very much a part of a loving family.Wheaton does nothing to establish this is a world where purity in woman is manically prized over all else, women's sexuality may be actually satanic and dueling is a viable way to solve problems. Without these cultural assumptions baked into the world of Much Ado, no ones reactions to Hero's supposed infidelity make any sense at all.Not that a father wouldn't be upset at a daughter being unfaithful one night before her wedding but "I disown you! Go die!" is really out of proportion with everything he established about the world.To say nothing of the fact that Beatrice comes off as a total psycho when she demands Benedict kill Claudio to restore Hero's honor. After just having confessed her love for the man (one of the movies stronger moments, in my estimation) she goes absolutely dead-eyed and cold as ice and says "kill your best friend and comrade in arms," and doesn't even seem to care about the damage this could do to the man she just a second ago claimed to love. Beatrice's demands only make sense in a world with far more old fashioned standards and mores. Also this shouldn't be such an easy ask for Beatrice to make. Her heart should rip in two at this choice between Benedict's well-being and her cousin's life and honor.Something to keep in mind when staging a Much Ado. They work better when you keep in mind that Beatrice is a sane woman in an insane world. Rated 1.5/5 Stars • Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review andy h To be continued, but the modern take doesn't make the play more engaging despite and because of the kept dialogue. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

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Joss Whedon Director Amy Acker Beatrice Alexis Denisof Benedick Nathan Fillion Dogberry Fran Kranz Claudio Jillian Morgese Hero

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Synopsis After a successful campaign against his rebellious brother, Don John (Sean Maher), Don Pedro (Reed Diamond) visits the governor of Messina. With him are Benedick (Alexis Denisof) and Claudio (Fran Kranz). While there, Claudio falls for the governor's daughter, Hero (Jillian Morgese), while Benedick engages in a war of words with Beatrice (Amy Acker), the governor's niece. While Don Pedro tries to trick Benedick and Beatrice into falling in love, Don John tries to tear Claudio and Hero apart.

Director
Joss Whedon

Producer
Joss Whedon

Screenwriter
Joss Whedon

Distributor
Lionsgate Films, Roadside Attractions

Production Co
Bellwether Pictures

Rating
PG-13 (Some Sexuality|Brief Drug Use)

Genre
Romance, Comedy

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 21, 2013, Wide

Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 2, 2015

Box Office (Gross USA)
$4.3M

Runtime
1h 49m
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