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Crimson Rivers, The

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 6 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
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)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Gothika
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site Official French Site
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...
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.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Jay Carr
The Crimson Rivers could teach many an American thriller a thing or two about sophisticated creepiness.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Does not end well. But there's a lot of pleasure in getting there.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
More amiably mindless summer distraction than just about anything Hollywood has to offer this season.
Read Full Review >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.
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
For most of its running time, this lunatic euro-thriller is creepy, stylish and occasionally suspenseful.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Jessica Winter
Never lacks for energy, and the director and his stars stride with focused confidence through the hooey.
Read Full Review >Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson
Glossy, gruesome police drama.
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.
Read Full Review >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.
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.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Stephen Hunter
The French now proudly prove they can make a big stupid violent cop movie, just like our gifted Hollywood professionals.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >New Times (L.A.) Gregory Weinkauf
Any cassette of "Millennium" would serve up better thrills and chills.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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.
