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Two for the Money
Metascore
50 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 29 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 29
  3. Negative: 3 out of 29
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    In D.J. Caruso's Two for the Money, you can see Al Pacino doing something he's done a lot lately: Having a terrific time being an actor.
  2. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    75
    Too long by about 20 minutes, and takes itself too seriously near the end. But if you're looking for a movie for a boys' night out, it's a winner.
  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: G. Allen Johnson
    75
    Big, loud, glossy and entertaining.
  4. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    70
    For all its swaggering bravado, Pacino's turn in Two For The Money is the reverse image of his "Devil's Advocate" character: Instead of the omniscient, all-powerful operator he presents himself as, he's a gambler grasping at a lifestyle that's always just beyond his means.
  5. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: M. E. Russell
    67
    While it's focused on the people -- on men who never had mentors struggling to mentor themselves and each other -- the movie works as a smart B film.
  6. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Robert K. Elder
    63
    It's a compelling drama, if only a little hollow. For my money, Pacino's bark is ultimately better than Two For the Money's bite.
  7. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    63
    A sloppy and ridiculous movie that Pacino makes oddly entertaining.
  8. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    63
    It says in the beginning of the film that Two for the Money is "inspired by a true story." Problem is, it's just not that inspired.
  9. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    63
    McConaughey will never be an actor who lets you into his soul, but he's credible as a good ole boy.
  10. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    63
    Marginally worth seeing if you're a Pacino fan but, even then, waiting for the DVD is the smart bet.
  11. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Peter Debruge
    63
    Over the years, Pacino's Method has become his madness, and now, whether he's playing Shylock or Satan, he doesn't become the part so much as the part becomes him.
  12. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Rick Kisonak
    60
    Has its rollicking moments and snappy lines but even Pacino can't elevate them into more than a fleetingly juicy treat. This is a movie that desperately wishes it had been written by David Mamet.
  13. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    60
    Silly but enjoyable drama.
  14. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    58
    Sports betting is a great subject for a movie, but Two for the Money is short on the number-crunching nitty-gritty.
  15. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    58
    It never quite adds up to anything. It's engaging enough while it's going on, but has little visceral impact or resonance.
  16. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    50
    A muddled melodrama about the shady and questionable though not quite illegal world of "sports advisers."
  17. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    50
    Pacino is a one-man three-ring circus, blustering, capering, cursing, raging and weaseling his way through this predictable morality play like a trickster Satan on speed.
  18. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    50
    It's as if a version of Oliver Stone's movie has been frozen in some fraternity house beer cooler since 1987 and thawed for the age of plasma screen TVs.
  19. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: James C. Taylor
    50
    Dramatic failings are only exacerbated by D.J. Caruso's direction: He composes every frame as if for television -- despite the fact that the film is shot in widescreen -- and his visual style is about as cinematic as sports talk radio.
  20. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Carina Chocano
    50
    Pure, unself-conscious macho camp, but it's not like Pacino and McConaughey don't know it. They're pitching tents and romping around in the grass like Jerry Maguire on steroids.
  21. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    50
    A confusion of tones, intentions and allusions, Two for the Money lurches from upbeat to downbeat without ever settling into a coherent groove.
  22. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    50
    Despite nice touches, pic meanders in the middle and ends flatly.
  23. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Chris Kaltenbach
    42
    If you expect anything more substantive from a movie - characters of more than one dimension, storylines that at the least play new riffs on old themes, plot developments that flow from the narrative - you'd best look elsewhere.
  24. Empire
    Reviewed by: Simon Braund
    40
    A preposterous, steroidal mess.
  25. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    40
    The direction by Caruso adds little to the dynamics, although the script by Dan Gilroy offers the occasional gem. Nevertheless, Two for the Money is hardly a cineplex bargain.
  26. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ben Kenigsberg
    40
    In keeping with his apparent ambition to play each character more berserk than the last, Pacino can't discuss wine choice without sounding on the brink of aneurysm.
  27. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    38
    Falls somewhere on that aesthetic scale between mediocre and flat-out bad.
  28. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    30
    The fight between good and evil feels fixed in favor of Hollywood redemption.
  29. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    25
    Two for the Money, which was written by Dan Gilroy (Freejack, Chasers), is so badly constructed and illogical that its inanities manage to drown the actor (Pacino) out.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
4.1 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 32 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 18
  3. Negative: 12 out of 18
  1. MikeD.
    3
    Ridiculous script. Pacino is always interesting to watch but he is over the top most of the time in this movie.
  2. RichR.
    1
    This is a foul movie. Why doesn't this has-been branch out a little bit instead of playing the same old dispeptic psycho in every movie, again and again, time after time... And Matthew Mc-whatever-it-is? Don't get me started! What a log! This guy's the Patrick Swayze of his generation: dull, non-threatening, over-exercised and dumb. I guess I should say "What a dog!" No wonder women like guys like these; they make them feel superior.… Full Review »
  3. BJS.
    6
    Definetely not as bad as these negative reviews. I personally I found it entertaining but I was not expecting a great movie.
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