Re-Invention World Tour - Critical Response

Critical Response

The show received positive reviews and critical acclaim. David Segal from The Washington Post noted that the "difference between this show and the last, the Drowned World Tour of 2001, was striking. That show seems standoffish compared with this one, in part because Madonna has finally worked through whatever issues prevented her from performing her earliest hits. Madonna has created a new performance hybrid." Segal's view was shared by Elizabeth Smith from The New York Times who also commented that "Unlike 2001's Drowned World Tour, which was dark, often hostile, Re-Invention returns Madonna to the light. She looks as if she is having a good time." Edna Gunderson of USA Today gave the concert four out of four stars and said "Madonna seems to be having a jolly good time. Whereas her last outing had technical strengths but lacked warmth, Reinvention finds Madonna reinvested emotionally. The show doesn't have the degree of flesh, carnal content or shock value that past outings delivered, but this time Madonna is opting for more heart than cleavage and more personality than profanity." Joshua Klein from Chicago Tribune commented that Madonna's show displayed more spectacle than substance.

Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine commented on the theme of the concert and said that "the best thing that can come out of Madonna revisiting (and reinventing) the past is that she, and we, will be reminded of what she does best: making us forget about the bad times, come together, release the pressure, and have a holiday. "Kelefa Sanneh from The New York Times said that the concert was "a dense, dizzying, often incoherent, sometimes exhilarating night, starring a great performer who often found herself shadowboxing with her own past lives." Dan Aquilante from New York Post said that the concert "razzle-dazzled her way into the hearts of the devoted audience with an entertaining theatrical revue that was elaborately staged, costumed and cast with a full dance troupe." Thea Singer of the Boston Herald said that "Madonna brought Jewish mysticism on tour." John Hand from BBC noted that the "Re-Invention Tour happily marrie past and present Madonna. It is a far more rounded concert experience for the dedicated fan." However Robert Hilburn from Los Angeles Times felt that the show eventually took on a darker, more political tone and condemned the "weakly political Re-Invention concert unsexy and uninspiring."