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Crimson Rivers, The

EMAILPRINTTristar Pictures

Crimson Rivers, The reviews
49
6.6 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 6 votes
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller

Written by: Jean-Christophe Grangé (also novel Red Blood Rivers)
Mathieu Kassovitz

Directed by: Mathieu Kassovitz

Release Date:
Theatrical: June 29, 2001
DVD: October 16, 2001

Running Time: 117 minutes, Color

Origin: France

Language(s): French (with English subtitles)

Summary

RATING: R for violence/grisly images and language

Starring Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel, Nadia Farès, Dominique Sanda, and Jean-Pierre Cassel

An action thriller set in against the breathtaking backdrop of the French Alps, The Crimson Rivers stars Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel in a gripping who-dunnit involving a series of grisly murders, a child's death twenty years earlier, and the secret history of a small town. (Sony Pictures Entertainment)

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...

88

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

A breathtaking exercise in the macabre, a gruesome thriller with quirky cops and a killer of Lecterian complexity, and even when the movie is perfect nonsense, it's so voluptuous that you're grateful to be watching it anyway.

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75

Boston Globe Jay Carr

The Crimson Rivers could teach many an American thriller a thing or two about sophisticated creepiness.

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75

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Does not end well. But there's a lot of pleasure in getting there.

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75

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Kassovitz keeps the film zipping along with solid pacing and just enough action to clear the credibility gaps as long as the film is rolling.

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63

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

More amiably mindless summer distraction than just about anything Hollywood has to offer this season.

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63

Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder

A confusing and not entirely believable ending clouds the issue, though, burying some fine performances and cinematography under an avalanche of gore and plot twists.

60

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

For most of its running time, this lunatic euro-thriller is creepy, stylish and occasionally suspenseful.

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60

Village Voice Jessica Winter

Never lacks for energy, and the director and his stars stride with focused confidence through the hooey.

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60

Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson

Glossy, gruesome police drama.

50

Variety Lisa Nesselson

Adequately entertaining but not particularly memorable.

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50

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

Wants to be about life, death and the red liquid that flows beneath our skin. It ends up being more about stage blood and stupid plot tricks.

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50

USA Today Mike Clark

Dull and unpleasant.

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50

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

Two things make this film slightly more interesting than its American B-movie equivalents. There's the artless way it shows the French state exercising its power and the charisma of French stars.

40

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Never lets up: A door can't shut without sounding like a bomb going off; mutilated bodies show up with clockwork punctuality, gratuitously underscored by a relentlessly overbearing soundtrack.

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40

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

The French now proudly prove they can make a big stupid violent cop movie, just like our gifted Hollywood professionals.

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40

The New York Times Stephen Holden

The full explanation for the movie's graphically depicted horrors is preposterous even by the almost-anything- goes standards of the action-thriller conspiracy genre.

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30

New Times (L.A.) Gregory Weinkauf

Any cassette of "Millennium" would serve up better thrills and chills.

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30

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Makes you gag.

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30

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Not even the strong, reflective, world-weary presence of Reno or Cassel's energy can make a dent in a movie in which suspense and tension dissipate quickly, with action sequences not spectacular enough to compensate. All that's left is gratuitous gore.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 6.6 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Ben W. gave it a 7:
Another "Seven" ripoff, but this one works, and it spooked me nonetheless. Gorgeous cinematography!

S. Clarke gave it a 7:
Haven't seen a decent movie from the USA in a long time and I don't think I'm about to! We need more (euro) movies like this.

Lee Y. gave it a 7:
I was taken away by the beauty of the cinematography and the acting of Jean Reno (one of my favorites) and Cassel. Oh had the plot been AS beautiful... Oh to give Kassovitz a good storyline...what he would do with it! I'd love to see it. However, all in all, eminently watchable and MUCh better than half the crap out there now!

[Anonymous] gave it a 6:
Not bad...nice camera work and spooky seven atmosphere...worth checking out.

Mchael F. gave it a 3:
Nice fancy, camera work, and fine performances, but so stupid and ridiculous that I felt like laughing if I wasn't so disappointed. There are many holes and random action sequences jut for the sake of action. A STUPID TWIST! Stupid idea with dumb character development, so many of the character points that they had added they just ignored.

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