Critical response
What is the approval rating for Shawshank Redemption on Rotten Tomatoes?
The Shawshank Redemption
"Entertainment Weekly" reviewer Owen Gleiberman praised the choice of scenery, writing that the "moss-dark, saturated images have a redolent sensuality" that makes the film very realistic. While praising Morgan Freeman's acting and oratory skills as making Red appear real, Gleiberman felt that with the "laconic-good-guy, neo-Gary Cooper role, Tim Robbins is unable to make Andy connect with the audience. "The film garnered a 90% approval rating from 63 critics—an average rating of 8.2 out of 10—on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic provides a score of 80 out of 100 from 19 critics, which indicates "generally favorable" reviews.