Mexican, The

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Gandolfini's fans expect something quirky whenever he shows up, and they'll get what they've bargained for.

Mr. Showbiz Cody Clark

The plot that propels them (Pitt, Roberts) along separate story lines is both unusually character-driven and a hoot.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Plenty of killings abound, nevertheless the film is a masterful -- albeit warped -- love-story-cum-road-movie that revolves around three of the most invigorating performances of the year.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Surprisingly enjoyable.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Gandolfini comes in from left field and provides a character with dimensions and surprises, bringing out the best in Roberts. Their dialogue scenes are the best reason to see the movie.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Together, the two of them (Pitt, Roberts) are cute as a bug.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Lively acting and stylish directing make this an engaging comedy-drama, although its attitude toward guns and violence is disconcertingly romantic.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

For a Hollywood studio movie, you see, The Mexican is remarkably strange and eccentric with a plot like a wrinkled bed sheet and a black comic sensibility that consistently swerves away from the cliches that have been established in this Age of Tarantino.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

Like many of his recent films, The Mexican would be an independent movie if Pitt, not to mention the queen of popcorn cinema, weren't part of the picture. This is not your typical star vehicle.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

This violently comic caper has some spunky charm going for it -- but has a lot of self-consciously hip, studied wackiness going against it.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Apparently intended as a larky, character-driven adventure with dark underpinnings, this attenuated road movie was originally envisioned as a vehicle for relative unknowns, and might have worked better that way.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

A seemingly mad dog periodically turns into a well-trained pet.

Variety Todd McCarthy

An intensely whimsical shaggy-dog crime story that ricochets between goofy violence and some endearing personal moments.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

The movie's biggest strength is a story that refuses to quit and almost makes sense within its own screwball logic.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

It's not the fault of "The Sopranos" charismatic, beefy star (Gandolfini) that he's an actor of such substance and quiet ardor as to make idle movie star ribbitting look frivolous.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Flails about desperately for a genre to call home.

USA Today Mike Clark

Superstars usually avoid movies this spiritless, and it's tough to believe anyone could read this script and fail to realize the movie wouldn't end up going anywhere.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Gandolfini, who skillfully fleshes out what's written as a one-joke character, comes close to pilfering The Mexican from the stars. Under the circumstances, that's not a huge accomplishment.

San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham

Thank God for James Gandolfini.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Isolated offbeat moments aside, The Mexican mostly fires blanks.

Slate David Edelstein

A passably diverting entry in the Tarantino genre of splatter and yuks and soulfully bumbling hit men.

Chicago Tribune Mark Caro

Plays like a drawn-out outline of a better movie; no one got around to fleshing out the details or providing some soul.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

The Mexican is its own worst enemy, consistently undermining its best efforts. The result is an over-long series of quirks, a film that's far less than the sum of its often amusing and ingenious parts.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

If The Mexican proves anything, it's that eccentric features need a particularly delicate touch to be successful. With a film like this, how close you come doesn't matter: Off by a little is as debilitating as off by a lot.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Can't lift the double curse of too little genuine action, as opposed to quixotic events, and too many fancy words.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

He's (Gandolfini) the true star of the film, and his stardom is achieved in the most honest of ways, through the sheer brute force of his talent.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

Intermittently appealing, fundamentally dysfunctional action-comedy.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Undisciplined and overstuffed with enough surplus plot twists to make your neck ache, The Mexican affects the tousled look of a self-conscious indie.

Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf

A dismaying dearth of romantic chemistry -- during their brief scenes together, the two (Pitt, Roberts) actually seem afraid to touch each other -- and we end up with a Frankenstein's monster of a movie: lots of interesting pieces cobbled together with all the stitches showing.

Salon.com Charles Taylor

The entire movie looks as if it were processed in the toilet of a Tijuana jail cell. Shot by Dariusz Wolski in colors that are bleached out, over bright and flat, The Mexican is the ugliest-looking major studio release in recent memory.

Time Richard Schickel

Half comedy, half action piece, the movie runs sputteringly on the not inconsiderable charm of its stars. But basically it is languid, indeterminate and uninvolving.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Feels patently inauthentic.

Newsweek David Ansen

A tired, confused romantic comedy/noir thriller with all the suspense of an infomercial. Buy the poster; skip the movie.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Promises a road movie of blissful comic romance and delivers a series of dramatic dead ends.

Film.com Robert Horton

Has even less directorial initiative than it has romantic spark.