34
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanCharlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanBeach blends all the performing styles smoothly: LL's blithe coolness, Blalock's sultry ambiguity, Liotta's slow-boiling intensity, Ejiofor's dapper amiability, Phifer's brooding intensity.
- 50TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghNo one and nothing can be taken at face value in Beach's twisty tale of secrets and lies, which buries its very interesting idea in a welter of ludicrous dialogue and skin-flick imagery.
- 40VarietyEddie CockrellVarietyEddie CockrellWhat begins as a moderately interesting set of interconnected mysteries involving race and identity soon grows eye-rollingly laborious, not to mention increasingly derivative of Christopher McQuarrie's "Usual Suspects" script.
- 40L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyYep, it’s Keyser Soze time.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe sort of cheesy thriller that would prove mildly diverting on late-night cable, Slow Burn at least features a terrific cast to enliven its familiar elements.
- 38New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithAn amusingly preposterous last act keeps you guessing, or maybe keeps you ducking, as it lets rip an avalanche of startling revelations and double-crosses. Nothing is what it seems - unless it seems cheesy.
- 38Boston GlobeBoston GlobeA veritable rip-off of 1995's "The Usual Suspects," Beach's crime caper not-so-subtly apes Bryan Singer's use of multiple red herrings and flashback-heavy interrogation scenes, but lacks the stylistic flair and sophisticated narrative skills to pull off a similar feat of cinematic intrigue.
- Beach's storytelling tactics, much like the film as a whole, would simply be annoying if they weren't also borderline insulting.
- 25San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleFor all it does right, there's something seriously wrong.
- 20The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenA wooden police thriller that is as dull as it is impenetrable and ultimately beyond ludicrous.