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Bandits
Metascore
60 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 32
  3. Negative: 2 out of 32
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  1. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    88
    Levinson's quirky caper is rich with laughs.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    80
    An amusing tale of larceny triumphant, Bandits is an entertainment with a rogue's imagination.
  3. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Schickel
    80
    Works as a sweetly loony ensemble piece, a sort of cracked romance that's typical of director Barry Levinson at his shrewd but unpretentious best.
    All this critic's reviews
  4. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Joe Morgenstern
    80
    The main reason to see Bandits is celebrity actors riffing with each other. That's not a bad reason, though. These two actors are also skillful comedians.
    All this critic's reviews
  5. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    80
    Almost every scene has something to chuckle over.
  6. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Rita Kempley
    80
    As for Billy Bob, they all steal the money, but he steals the show.
  7. New Times (L.A.)
    Reviewed by: Robert Wilonsky
    80
    Delightful almost in spite of itself.
  8. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    75
    The picture is written and acted as a lark and a romp.
  9. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    75
    For sheer escapist fun, the proudly ridiculous Bandits fills the bill.
  10. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    75
    Good value for the money, a funny, character-driven action comedy with three disparate stars -- who have great chemistry together.
  11. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    75
    Billy Bob Thornton, wearing a succession of toupees, wigs, fake facial hair, and funny hats, and twitching more than a horse's behind, is the best reason to see Bandits.
  12. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    75
    Taken as a whole, Bandits is a success, a two-hour entertainment that floats along, stumbling into various genres, discovering its moments.
  13. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    75
    It's a rare romantic comedy/road picture that's not only flat-out funny, but also presents complex and well-developed characters.
  14. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    75
    The film is such a good-natured and easygoing ride that it's ultimately very hard to resist.
  15. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Dennis Lim
    70
    Neither sardonic nor slapstick enough, Bandits is framed as a flashback -- which merely heightens the general feeling of inevitability.
  16. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    70
    The disparate but highly skilled leading trio of Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchett keeps this road movie engaging even when it veers giddily onto the shoulder.
  17. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    63
    Bandits isn't much more than a pleasant dawdle, one made extra-likable by Thornton and Blanchett, whose ace performances keep the film zipping along even at its most predictable.
  18. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Jay Carr
    63
    Isn't awful, but neither is it the tangy entertainment it could have been.
    All this critic's reviews
  19. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Tanya L. Edwards
    60
    Overall the mix of comedy and action is smooth and utterly enjoyable.
  20. Slate
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    60
    Levinson must think he's on safe ground morally by keeping Bandits bloodless, as if the absence of carnage somehow makes kidnapping and armed robbery wholesome.
  21. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    50
    So determined to be clever and whimsical that it neglects to be anything else.
  22. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Heather Wadowski
    50
    The action-comedy could have easily been a delightful romp thanks to its A-list cast and well-written script, but poor editing causes Bandits to be just another hum-ho movie.
  23. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    50
    A comedy that might have made Butch and Sundance jump off a cliff.
  24. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    50
    The picture's strength is comedy -- but the love and crime stories too often drag, falter or just plain frustrate.
  25. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    50
    What we're getting in this movie isn't necessarily better; it's just more.
  26. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    50
    Guilty of behaving like a petty thievery corporation; it steals from so many other sources that we're forced to realize that it has little of its own to offer. As such, it can't help but fail to meet expectations, given the talents involved.
  27. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Lisa Alspector
    50
    Mined for comedy and milked for drama, though what results is diminished by the very framing device contrived to punch it up.
  28. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Charles Taylor
    40
    Nothing is more dispiriting than forced high spirits. Bandits keeps reminding you of what a good time you should be having. You leave with a feeling of being swindled, and that's the only genuine thing about it.
  29. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    40
    Too long, too slow, too self-consciously chatty and too much at the mercy of a slim premise that doesn't wear well under endless repetition.
  30. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    40
    What started as cute becomes cloying and bloated. Charm should never feel like it weighs a ton.
  31. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    38
    Long before this interminable film reaches its bogus finale, you'll realize that the people in it aren't real.
  32. Mr. Showbiz
    Reviewed by: Kevin Maynard
    20
    This self-consciously kooky road movie about an unusual trio of bank robbers aims for Hal Ashby misanthropy, but hasn't a single emotionally grounded or plausible moment to justify its purely cinematic eccentricities.
    All this critic's reviews
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