 Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" rated it 3/5 stars and wrote that it "deserves a look".Anthony Quinn of "The Independent" rated it 1/5 stars and wrote, "[T]he only way you could make the spiralling absurdities of As You Like It work would be to transform it into a fast-paced comedy".Many American critics called the film a "comeback" for Branagh's Shakespeare adaptations, which had reached what many considered a low point with "Love's Labour's Lost".