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Changing Lanes
Paramount Pictures


7.0

based on 36 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 35 votes
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Rate this movie

FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for language

Starring Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, Toni Collette, Amanda Peet, William Hurt, Sydney Pollack, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Dundas

A rush hour fender-bender on New York City's crowded FDR Drive turns two complete strangers into vicious adversaries. (Paramount Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	Chap Taylor (also story) Michael Tolkin
DIRECTED BY:	Roger Michell
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: September 10, 2002 Video: September 10, 2002 Theatrical: April 12, 2002
RUNNING TIME:	99 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

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

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

This is one of the best movies of the year.

100

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Glossy, big-budget thriller that qualifies as the season's biggest and most rewarding surprise.

Variety Robert Koehler

Captures the excitement of lightning in a bottle.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Far richer than you'd ever think possible.

Slate David Edelstein

It's an elegant, civilized, and deeply liberal piece of craftsmanship, with the sort of social conscience you rarely encounter in a modern American thriller.

Chicago Reader Sergio Mims

Jackson's portrait of impotent rage is tremendous, and Affleck, who drops his usual smugness, is surprisingly good.

The New Yorker David Denby

The plot, with its matched, escalating acts of revenge, may be a contrivance, but within that contrivance Changing Lanes plays earnest and well. [6 May 2002, p. 138]

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

The movie goes for the throat and keeps squeezing.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

Out of that clever setup, Changing Lanes pulls both the promised taut suspense and a much deeper film: an ethics thriller.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Frustrating yet deeply watchable melodrama that makes you think it's a tougher picture than it is.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Rarely have I seen a film so willing to champion the fallibility of the human heart.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Loses its nerve in the final minutes, relying on a series of contrivances to arrive at an unconvincingly pat, happy ending. The story begged for a darker, more biting resolution.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Seething, searing tragedy of unmannerliness.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

A thrilling ride but also a thoughtful one, it's a movie that does manage to do more good than bad by the end of the day.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Modern film noir done with flair and commitment.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Teasing drama whose relentless good-deed/bad-deed reversals are just interesting enough to make a sinner like me pray for an even more interesting, less symmetrical, less obviously cross-shaped creation.

USA Today Mike Clark

If it's not conventionally speedy, it is almost always gripping.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

While Changing Lanes isn't a perfect movie, it's watchable and compelling, and works on more than one level.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

A refreshingly novel ride.

LA Weekly Manohla Dargis

Although what ensues is generally unsurprising and as pro forma down-and-dirty as the genre dictates, it's also on occasion rather affecting.

Film Threat Michael Dequina

As it stands Changing Lanes already exceeds expectations, provoking serious thought while skillfully telling a compelling, character-driven story.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

More entertaining than it has a right to be. It's pulpy and preposterous, and yet it gets at a real truth.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Deeply strange, oddly shimmery movie.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

The movie just seems like one more Hollywood cop-out, and a waste of our original emotional investment.

Boston Globe Renee Graham

Banek is one of the more complex characters Affleck has attempted, but the performance comes off flat and uninvolving.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

For all its pretensions, Changing Lanes, ultimately, is about nothing more profound than one foul day.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

It's watchable from start to finish, despite lapses in common sense, and it boasts a terrific cast of over-40 actors.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

What these guys do for revenge during one hellish day in the Big Apple makes the panic room look like Barney's toy box. The film itself goes off the deep end way before the end credits.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Bleak and complex moral thriller.

Village Voice Dennis Lim

Smitten by the symmetry of his parable, director Roger Michell crosscuts emphatically between the preening leads -- a strategy that only draws attention to the numerous lapses in logic and unpersuasive changes of heart while sidelining the lively supporting cast

Salon.com Damien Cave

Despite some solid acting and cinematography -- mistakenly turns what should have been a fast-paced thriller into a cerebral sermon about the slippery slope of corporate law.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

A curious combination of strident preachment and smartly farcical thriller; it's heavy-handed and light-footed at the same time.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

It is so dishonest that the title Changing Lanes can just as well refer to the cheaply contrived turns in the film.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Definitely erratic, this thing -- all in all, it's the sort of commercial vehicle you might want to stay well back of.

New Times (L.A.) Luke Y. Thompson

If you can roll with these moments, the rest of the film pays off, but even with a relatively happy ending (one that, given the characters in question, may not last), it's a heck of a downer for date night.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Gets too caught up in its escalating violence and strained-to-bursting moral subtexts. It's the blood of souls drenching the screen, and it's a hideous sight to behold.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 35 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Corentin H. gave it a9:
Very good movie. I love the music and ambiance ...

JW gave it a7:
Pretty darn good, given the wild leaps it sometimes makes. Both leads play against type; Jackson by looking frumpy and helpless, Affleck by doing a decent acting job in a worthwhile film. What's with Pollack and boats these days?

Frank O. gave it an8:
Cast and director did good job of escalating the consequences of the characters actions, nice plot twists; Jackson was better than Affleck; Pollack was good as lawyer; ending was contrite.

Tony B. gave it a5:
It has a point to make and succeeds in making it. A number of contrivances, the worst being having a NYC public school open on Good Friday, could have been avoided.

Kevin K. gave it a 10:
Amazing movie! Very suspenseful, with a greater underlyign theme of ethics. Heartpounding intensity throughout the whole film.

James K. gave it an 8:
This movie had great acting, the story was great, and got some ideas across that really made you think.

Adam E. gave it a 7:
A good film with 2 great performances from 2 good actors. It lacks a bit of action and suspence but it is very enjoyable anyway.

Changing Lanes Paramount Pictures

Changing Lanes
Paramount Pictures