82
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineA wonderful, sentimental western about a bad man who redeems himself.
- 88Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonThe great Christmas western with Duke Wayne, Pedro Armendariz and Harry Carey Jr. as three fugitive outlaws, who, by caring for an abandoned baby, unwittingly become sagebrush equivalents for the Three Wise Men. [04 May 2001, p.C1]
- 83The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe fairy-tale-like 3 Godfathers casts Wayne as one of a trio of outlaws charged with caring for a baby, and discovering responsibility and perhaps his soul (the two go hand-in-hand for Ford) in the process.
- 80The New York TimesBosley CrowtherThe New York TimesBosley CrowtherIt is Mr. Ford's wonderful style in picturing a frontier fable that has the classic mould. His unsurpassed talent for bringing upon the motion-picture screen the nature and the drama of the great West is in itself an art.
- 80The Observer (UK)The Observer (UK)This underrated picture opens with a superbly staged bank robbery, is strikingly shot in Death Valley, and is dedicated to the great Harry Carey, who starred in Ford's 1919 version of this story and died in 1947 after appearing in Red River. [22 Aug 2004, p.63]
- 70The GuardianThe GuardianIt's a comical sentimental reworking of the journey of the Magi, with John Wayne, Pedro Armendariz and Harry Carey Jr as the soft-hearted outlaws. [01 Mar 2008, p.53]
- 60Time OutTime OutThe distressing Ford penchant for symbols of religiosity which had marred The Fugitive does the same disservice here.