Michael Clayton
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Metascore
82 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 36 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 247 Ratings

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  • Starring: George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson
  • Summary: Michael Clayton (George Clooney) is an in-house "fixer" at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. At the behest of the firm’s co-founder Marty Bach, Clayton, a former prosecutor from a family of cops, takes care of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen’s dirtiest work. Clayton cleans up clientients’ messes, handling anything from hit-and-runs and damaging stories in the press to shoplifting wives and crooked politicians. Burned out and discontented in his job, Clayton is inextricably tied to the firm. At the agrochemical company U/North, the career of in-house chief counsel Karen Crowder rests on the settlement of the suit that Kenner, Bach & Ledeen is leading to a seemingly successful conclusion. When the firms top litigator, the brilliant Arthur Edens, has an apparent breakdown and tries to sabotage the entire case, Marty Back sends Michael Clayton to tackle this unprecedented disaster and in doing so, Clayton comes face to face with the reality of what he has become. (Warner Bros.)… Collapse

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    I don't know what vast significance Michael Clayton has (it involves deadly pollution but isn't a message movie). But I know it is just about perfect as an exercise in the genre.
  2. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    80
    Instead of taking control of the movie in any overt way, Clooney commands our attention by swimming just beneath its surface. He's a disappearing act with staying power.
  3. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    80
    As with the Bourne films, Gilroy has a knack for creating strong characters and situations that resonate with tension. It may be formula, but the guy is a solid chemist as he crafts excellent set-ups and payoffs.
  4. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Pete Vonder Haar
    80
    Quite possibly Clooney’s best effort to date.

See all 36 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 104 out of 149
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 149
  3. Negative: 23 out of 149
  1. jw
    10
    What a great movie. Or should I say: What? A great movie?? If Wilkinson doesn't get an Oscar for support, I'll eat my shoe. All of it. And I walk through nasty stuff. Scenes between him and Clooney are high-end. The words are fantastic. Informed but not sermonic, huge but not bombastic (save where bombast is called for). Come to think of it, Clooney getting an Oscar would not be uncalled for, though that will probably go to Tommy Lee Jones. Tilda Swinton continues to show up in movies I like (SEE: Thumbsucker, Broken Flowers).… Expand
  2. Wiesy
    8
    A complicated but good and exciting thriller. The best movie of 2007. Again Robert Ludlum blow my mind like he did by the Jason Bourne movies (Robert Ludlum is the writer of the Jason Bourne movies and this movie). I like the cast and the story. Nice movie.… Expand
  3. imthenoob
    7
    Very solid performances by the cast. The flaw of this though is that it's a little confusing at times and it never really peaks until the end of the film (around the last 20 minutes of the film). Its still a good movie though, I enjoyed watching it.… Expand
  4. Battle
    4
    Overrated... it tried to be way more complex than it end being. acting was good but I was left very unsatisfied at the end. flashback horse thing was extremely weak. anticlimactic... would not recommend even for a rental.… Expand

See all 149 User Reviews

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