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52 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 21
  3. Negative: 3 out of 21
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  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    100
    A first-rate thriller about arrogance at the top.
  2. Newsweek
    Reviewed by: David Ansen
    90
    Eastwood is at his effortless, slyboots best and the film is as preposterous as it is delightful.
  3. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    A tight, taut thriller with a twist.
  4. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    80
    Sleek and satisfying....Almost a drawing room thriller, unhurried and genteel but enlivened with suspense and surprising bursts of sly, even biting, humor.
    All this critic's reviews
  5. San Francisco Examiner
    Reviewed by: Barbara Shulgasser
    75
    Eastwood is perfect as the bad guy (a thief) you root for.
  6. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    75
    A fairly routine thriller that gets high marks as a result of tight pacing and top-notch acting.
  7. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    70
    The warming, nicely played relationship of the burglar and his lawyer daughter (Laura Linney) is the source of the film's absolute power. [24 Feb 1997, p. 67]
    All this critic's reviews
  8. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    70
    Eastwood is in good, sly form, once again delighting in a character's splendid solitude and singular skill at what he does.
  9. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    63
    The content is eminently forgettable but the thing has definitely got style.
  10. Empire
    Reviewed by: Angie Errigo
    60
    A film that is entertaining but not seriously absorbing.
  11. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Elvis Mitchell
    60
    Eastwood directs a sensible-looking genre film with smooth expertise, but its plot is quietly berserk.
  12. The New Republic
    Reviewed by: Stanley Kauffmann
    60
    Flies into the improbable at its big moments. [17 Mar 1997, p. 28]
    All this critic's reviews
  13. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    50
    Eastwood gutsily stages the extended opening slowly and methodically... [But u]nintentional yuks litter an otherwise somber political thriller adapted from David Baldacci's novel.
    All this critic's reviews
  14. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    50
    An old man's movie, filled with regret over things lost, corrupted and spoiled.
  15. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    50
    Glum and depersonalized, as if Eastwood couldn't muster the energy to guide us through this maze of improbable twists. [14 Feb 1997, p. 39]
    All this critic's reviews
  16. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: John Krewson
    40
    A murky, often confusing story riddled with half-hearted performances, erratic characters, and too many cliched lines and situations.
  17. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Bruce Diones
    40
    A sombre, boring little thriller based on David Baldacci's ridiculous right-wing best-seller.
  18. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    40
    A piece of cheese without much flavor.
  19. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Charles Taylor
    20
    The embodiment of every conservative paranoid's slathering fantasies about Paula Jones, Vince Foster and Whitewater.
  20. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    20
    Devolves into such utter ludicrousness, the best response (other than avoiding the thing in the first place) is to laugh.
  21. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Rita Kempley
    20
    Promises to speed up the pacemakers of grumpy old Republicans with its ruthless indictment of the unzipped presidency.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. PatC.
    5
    Unusual premise, good drama in the one-way mirror scene, but eventually the film just drags and is unenlightened and predictable.
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