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The Insider
Metascore
84 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 34 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 34
  3. Negative: 0 out of 34
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  1. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    100
    Excellent acting, a stirring screenplay, and crisply intelligent directing make this fact-based movie a great human drama as well as a riveting and revealing look at crucially important social issues.
  2. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    100
    May be the best movie of the year.
  3. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    100
    A marvelous ensemble cast and all the visceral impact and moment-to-moment tension of a fine thriller, together with the distinctive visual style of an art film.
  4. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    100
    With it's dynamite performances, strafing wit and dramatic provocation, The Insider offers Mann at his best -- blood up, unsanitized and unbowed.
    All this critic's reviews
  5. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    91
    It's a terrific movie -- intelligent, magnificently acted, highly compelling as a thriller, and downright scary in its implications for the corporate-run world of the new millennium.
  6. Mr. Showbiz
    Reviewed by: Richard T. Jameson
    90
    For two hours and 35 minutes it is absolutely riveting.
  7. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    90
    Has the glorious look and immaculate technique we expect from Mann, along with a wealth of superb secondary performances.
  8. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    90
    A dead-on tale of corporate power, courage, cowardice and how we live.
  9. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Janet Maslin
    90
    Is still sleek, gripping entertainment with a raw-nerved, changeable camera style that helps to amplify its meaning.
  10. Newsweek
    Reviewed by: David Ansen
    90
    Reveals a chilling reality: how hard it is to tell a simple truth when big business doesn't want it told.
  11. Slate
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    90
    A big, overlong, and rather unwieldy piece of storytelling, but the story it has to tell is so vital that it cuts through all the dramaturgical muddiness. It's a terrific muckraking melodrama--it will get people fuming.
  12. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    90
    The viewer almost has to be a journalist--or a good editor--to sniff out the meat under all the fat.
  13. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    90
    A well-orchestrated nightmare that keeps you on edge until the very end.
  14. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Lisa Alspector
    90
    Almost cagily creating understated drama from high-stakes reality.
  15. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    Power to absorb, entertain and anger.
  16. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    88
    This is a first-class muckraking melodrama: an admirable picture.
  17. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    88
    A big, bold movie that gets at undeniable truths about the way no one, no matter how powerful, is immune from manipulation.
  18. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    88
    At its best, hard-hitting grown-up cinema (rare these days) and a movie blessed with a villain (Big Tobacco) for which all gloves can be removed and heaved into the next county.
  19. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    83
    Earnest, smart, handsome, well-acted and made with mastery.
  20. TNT RoughCut
    Reviewed by: Tom Cappello
    80
    Overall, a solid piece of film that not only entertains but also educates.
  21. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: J. Hoberman
    80
    May be pumped-up, but it's rarely boring
  22. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Luke Y. Thompson
    80
    The final product is great populist entertainment and may even leave audiences with a feeling of comfort, however fleeting, in the knowledge that corrupt corporations don't always win
  23. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Robert Horton
    80
    It's great that this movie exists.
  24. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Foreman
    75
    A beautifully shot, well-acted movie that manages to make a complicated, real-life story without much drama feel like a thriller.
  25. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    75
    Few American directors drive this wedge between mind and gut as masterfully as Michael Mann.
  26. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    75
    Pacino and Crowe are at their best, but the supporting cast also shines.
  27. San Francisco Examiner
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    75
    A meticulously assembled dramatization of a grossly controversial moment in TV history.
  28. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    75
    Tells an important story about a story that might never have been told at all.
  29. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    75
    A good but far from great movie because it portrays truth telling in America as far more imperiled than it is.
  30. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    70
    An exciting dramatization of the strange events that marked the turning of the legal tide against Big Tobacco, and a particularly dark moment in the annals of CBS News.
  31. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Sean Means
    70
    The insider's view of celebrity in The Insider grabs the spotlight from the real story of Wigand's courage.
  32. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    70
    A borderline pretentious, overly inflated picture.
  33. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Jay Carr
    63
    A big, dark juggernaut of a movie about a big, dark juggernaut of a subject.
  34. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    50
    It's all a little too polished, a little too smug to be ranked up there as one of the great journalism films.
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.7 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 12
  3. Negative: 1 out of 12
  1. Pushkar
    9
    You don't need to be an Einstein to know that Russel Crowe is a brilliant actor. If want to see an acing genius then do watch this movie. Overall a well made movie which keeps you at the edge of your seats and brilliant cast. A must watch for those who appreciate good acting.… Full Review »
  2. RONGIU
    10
    Sorry for the translation. Long live newspapers, journalists hooray, hooray the free press. Why? Because a free press is the mirror of the nation, citizens are reflected in it. The journalists free from the constraints of so-called big powers, are educators. A piece of news, politics, can be told in a thousand ways. The question is - I am a journalist when I write, I hide behind my writing, or are in front of it and so proud of? My words are fertile for my readers? Help young people to think? Help solve a problem? In short, they help to grow? People always deserve the best respect. This is democracy and that is why our fathers died. For this ideal still die. I will take up this discussion further, talking about my Italy. And now within the film. When the truth "produces" welfare, that is the feel good in physical terms, of a community, even frighteningly shaky financial empires. The bearer of Truth, however, always has a price, sometimes very high, in terms economic and psychophysical. But if you are lucky enough to share your truth with a decent man, of sound principles, that truth produces pain is shared, this sharing improves decision-making skills and translating them into voluntary acts determined. This is what happens to the two main protagonists of the film. The first is a scientist, dr. Jeffrey Wigand (R. Crowe), put out the door by Brown & Williamson company that produces cigarettes. The second is Lowell Bergman (A. Pacino), one of the leaders of the popular journalism program "60 Minutes "on CBS. Lowell and Wigand will create, with their conscious choices, to one of the most famous investigations and follow U.S. and beyond. This investigation will lead the multinational "blondes" to pay a very heavy compensation for damage (diseases and deaths) caused by tobacco. Wigand reveals on live television that the His company adds chemicals that create dependency. Consequences of this are, of course, more sales and higher revenues. But what will the price pay for the two protagonists? What will become of peace, economic security, marriage? What role will the wives? There is freedom of information general? The strong powers, political, economic, influencing what information? A many millions of dollars compensation amounts required by 50 states, the tobacco companies? Michael Mann, director and screenwriter Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) gives us a gem. For an Italian, Dante Spinotti, was entrusted with the photo of the film. One last thing: "Seven nominations and no statue. Why? These are movies that you mark, leave an indelible mark on your soul. In schools, these films must enter the front door. You should discuss compare, clarify any doubts. The words hurt and sometimes fatal. The language, a body so small, it produces infinite damage. Words fly, writings remain. "Verba volant, scripta manent." Careful what you write. Good Ciak!… Full Review »
  3. SeanK.
    10
    My all time favorite film. Mann truly has crafted a masterpiece so brisk bold and utterly electrifying. Pacino and Crowe both give great oscar winning potrayles especially Pacino. The film serves you the truth raw and tantalizing. The plot is one of the most intelligent of our generation giving all the characters a slick and open world to work in. I would highly reccommend this to everyone especially fans of Manns work.… Full Review »
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