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Bound
Gramercy Pictures

Bound reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 61 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.6 out of 10
based on 19 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for strong sexuality, violence and language

Starring Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, Joe Pantoliano, John P. Ryan, Christopher Meloni, Richard C. Sarafian, Mary Mara, and Susie Bright

A provocative and passionate thriller from the creators of the Matrix series.


GENRE(S): Crime  |  Romance  |  Suspense/Thriller  
WRITTEN BY: Andy Wachowski
Larry Wachowski
 
DIRECTED BY: Andy Wachowski
Larry Wachowski
 
RELEASE DATE: DVD: June 19, 2001 
Video: October 17, 1997 
Theatrical: October 4, 1996 
RUNNING TIME: 108 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

Outstanding Film, 1997 GLAAD Media Awards

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
It's a complex, satisfying piece of entertainment, a succession of unexpected, outrageous scenes.
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100
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
It's pure cinema, spread over several genres. It's a caper movie, a gangster movie, a sex movie and a slapstick comedy.
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90
Dallas Observer Jimmy Fowler
The writing-directing team of brothers Larry and Andi Wachowski has chosen as its filmmaking debut a tightly constructed, stylishly (but rarely self-consciously) executed, gripping little noir parable that couldn't be more firmly grounded in American movie tradition if the filmmakers created a wacky romantic farce about mismatched paramours.
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88
ReelViews James Berardinelli
From the first scene, however, it's obvious that the writing/directing team of Andy and Larry Wachowski are aiming for something considerably higher than rudimentary titillation. And, by taking chances and twisting conventions, they have hit paydirt.
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88
TV Guide Staff(not credited)
The result is flashy -- first-time directors Larry and Andy Wachowski never miss an opportunity to show us red, red drops of blood against brilliant white -- but pretty good fun, especially if the thought of Tilly in a succession of thigh-high bandage dresses makes you sweat.
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88
USA Today Mike Clark
Some caper movies build suspense, while others tweak the genre with tongue lancing cheek. But this lesbian caper pic (how's that for a rarefied subgenre?) often pulls off both feats in the same scene, even simultaneously. [04 Oct 1996 Pg.04.D]
83
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The true pleasures of Bound lie in the Wachowskis' inventive updated take on film noir traditions, sensuously realized by cinematographer Bill Pope ("Clueless").
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80
Empire Kim Newman
Lovingly designed in black and white, and played with a nice sense of irony, this offers the not unappealing spectacle of gorgeous, funny, clever women making fools of hard-boiled Mafia guys.
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80
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
In short, Bound is admittedly derivative, but it's such an amusing low-down entertainment it really doesn't matter.
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75
San Francisco Examiner Barry Walters
The Wachowski brothers are to be applauded for a film that is also nearly as stylishly funny as it is sexy and fast-paced.
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70
Washington Post Rita Kempley
Bound, a diabolically clever caper, isn't nearly so deep as the genre it kids.
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70
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
This gets very suspenseful (as well as fairly gruesome) in spots, and if it never adds up to anything profound, it's still a welcome change to have a lesbian couple as the chief identification figures.
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70
Time Richard Schickel
The Wachowskis have the predilection for loopy camera setups common to first-time directors, but their hearts are in the right transgressive place, and their film will tide some of us over until Quentin gets...well...unbound.
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67
Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
What's more, they toss a few original twists into a familiar generic set-up and thereby create a thoroughly entertaining and stylish thriller.
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50
The New York Times Elvis Mitchell
The film is shot by Bill Pope with such enterprising flair that it never looks claustrophobic, but the action inevitably stalls in such close quarters.
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50
Washington Post Bruce Walker
Like so many other rob-the-mob movies, the plan seems pretty far-fetched, and the ending isn't much of a surprise. But if you like your films sprinkled liberally with sex, violence and humor, then you're bound to like Bound.
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25
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Larry and Andy Wachowski directed this lurid, sexually explicit thriller.
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10
LA Weekly Staff(not credited)
While the women go through a few of the motions, shifting decorously under the sheets and sucking face, there's no lust in their coupling, just choreography and the conceit of two filmmakers with nothing more on their minds than fake dykes and bloodshed.
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10
Variety Todd McCarthy
Debuting writer-directors Larry and Andy Wachowski come off like Coen brothers wannabes with no sense of humor.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

M. K. Davalt gave it an8:
Very good film. Plenty of tension, in both plot and relationships. The camerawork is sometimes distracting, but overall, fun to watch. The two women who star make us care about them, and the success of their enterprise.

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