Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 34 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 187 Ratings

  • Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell
  • Summary: Very much out of place amidst the gothic architecture, canals, and cobbled streets, the two hit men fill their days living the lives of tourists. Ray, still haunted by the bloodshed in London, hates the place, while Ken, even as he keeps a fatherly eye on Ray's often profanely funny exploits, finds his mind and soul being expanded by the beauty and serenity of the city. But the longer they stay waiting for Harry's call, the more surreal their experience becomes, as they find themselves in weird encounters with locals, tourists, violent medieval art, a dwarf American actor shooting a European art film, Dutch prostitutes, and a potential romance for Ray in the form of Chloe, who may have some dark secrets of her own. And when the call from Harry does finally come, Ken and Ray's vacation becomes a life-and-death struggle of darkly comic proportions and surprisingly emotional consequences. (Focus Features) Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 34
  2. Negative: 0 out of 34
  1. 100
    An endlessly surprising, very dark, human comedy, with a plot that cannot be foreseen but only relished.
  2. Reviewed by: Damon Wise
    80
    With In Bruges, the British gangster movie gets a Croydon facelift. It may not be new, but it’s a wonderfully fresh take on a familiar genre: fucked-up, far-out and very, very funny.
  3. Reviewed by: Jeremy Mathews
    80
    In a film full of great performances, Ralph Feinnes steals the show as Harry, the boss.
  4. Mr. Gleeson, Mr. Farrell and especially the late-arriving and welcome Mr. Fiennes have great fun rummaging around inside Mr. McDonagh’s modest bag of tricks.

See all 34 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 60 out of 66
  2. Negative: 5 out of 66
  1. WepmajoE
    10
    Perfect from start to finish. The dry sometimes extremely dark humor shoots your funny bone as the dramatic scenes shoot through your nerves. Great performances all around, beautiful locales, excellent pacing. By far the best movie of last year. Expand
  2. Colin Farrell throws in a unforgettably arrogant but funny performance with great support from Brendan Gleeson in the sly but direct black-comedy "In Bruges". Its a must watch for those who ponder about the meaning of life. Expand
  3. TylerM.
    7
    Not what I was expecting at all. The Story: Two hitmen are sent to Bruges in order to hide out... An expected call from the boss though, results in unexpected orders, for an otherwise expected outcome. It's kind of a character study in that there's a significant amount of time learning what makes these characters tick, the problem is, that (on first viewing at least) there's not much too the characters... Ray feels guilty for his past and spends most of the film trying to figure out if he deserves to live. Ken, mesmerized by the wonderland that is Bruges, finds himself worried about his friend, taking it upon himself to save his partners soul. Conflicted by the moral issues that surround his current situation and job... And than there's Harry. The boss. He's a villain that you know deep down inside you can't hate because he makes a valid point, one must pay for their own actions, accidental or not. He's not evil, though he's not nice either, he's not good but he's not bad, and you're not going to be rooting for him. The Cast: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes... Colin Farrell is Ray, guilt stricken by a hit gone terribly awry. He gives a good performance as he's eternally conflicted, he's not a man, but he feels deeply ashamed of himself for his past actions, so doesn't that mean that he should be forgiven? Or is he hopeless because he's done the unthinkable? Solid performance from start to finish. Brendan Gleeson is Ken, stuck between a rock and a hard place hit his partner or save his soul, giving him a second chance? Arguably the best performance in the film. Ralph Fiennes is Harry, a firm believer that some actions deserve certain consequences no matter what the circumstance. You know he has a heart and you know that on some level he is in fact right, but you're wishing he's wrong the entire time. Great performance, but not his best. Probably the first time that a trailer has truly influenced my score... There's no disagreeing that the trailer is about as misleading as you can possibly get. The trailer has you believing that Guy Ritchie has some competition. It's fast, it's clever, it's stylish, it's funny, and it's full of quirky or offbeat characters... The film itself is slowpaced, sometimes predictable and nowhere near as complex as you're expecting, as the quirky characters often add little to nothing to the story... I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt, I only watched it once expecting a fast paced Snatch type film, really hoping to see another Guy Ritchie on the horizon... The second time around I'm sure it will be immensely better. Expand
  4. MarkH.
    3
    The film tries so hard to be politically incorrect and indie odd that it comes across as a parody of itself. The illogical story lines and impossible timing of events make this an unbearable and embarassing movie to sit through. Expand

See all 66 User Reviews

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