| 88 |
Baltimore Sun
Levinson's quirky caper is rich with laughs.
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| 80 |
Washington Post
As for Billy Bob, they all steal the money, but he steals the show.
|
| 80 |
New Times (L.A.)
Delightful almost in spite of itself.
|
| 80 |
Los Angeles Times
An amusing tale of larceny triumphant, Bandits is an entertainment with a rogue's imagination.
|
| 80 |
Washington Post
Almost every scene has something to chuckle over.
|
| 80 |
Wall Street Journal
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.
|
| 80 |
Time
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.
|
| 75 |
USA Today
It's a rare romantic comedy/road picture that's not only flat-out funny, but also presents complex and well-developed characters.
|
| 75 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Taken as a whole, Bandits is a success, a two-hour entertainment that floats along, stumbling into various genres, discovering its moments.
|
| 75 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
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.
|
| 75 |
New York Daily News
For sheer escapist fun, the proudly ridiculous Bandits fills the bill.
|
| 75 |
Chicago Tribune
The picture is written and acted as a lark and a romp.
|
| 75 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The film is such a good-natured and easygoing ride that it's ultimately very hard to resist.
|
| 75 |
New York Post
Good value for the money, a funny, character-driven action comedy with three disparate stars -- who have great chemistry together.
|
| 70 |
Variety
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.
|
| 70 |
Village Voice
Neither sardonic nor slapstick enough, Bandits is framed as a flashback -- which merely heightens the general feeling of inevitability.
|
| 63 |
Miami Herald
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.
|
| 63 |
Boston Globe
Isn't awful, but neither is it the tangy entertainment it could have been.
|
| 60 |
TV Guide
Tanya L. Edwards
Overall the mix of comedy and action is smooth and utterly enjoyable.
|
| 60 |
Slate
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.
|
| 50 |
Chicago Sun-Times
So determined to be clever and whimsical that it neglects to be anything else.
|
| 50 |
The New York Times
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.
|
| 50 |
Chicago Reader
Mined for comedy and milked for drama, though what results is diminished by the very framing device contrived to punch it up.
|
| 50 |
Film Threat
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.
|
| 50 |
New York Magazine
What we're getting in this movie isn't necessarily better; it's just more.
|
| 50 |
Portland Oregonian
The picture's strength is comedy -- but the love and crime stories too often drag, falter or just plain frustrate.
|
| 50 |
Entertainment Weekly
A comedy that might have made Butch and Sundance jump off a cliff.
|
| 40 |
Rolling Stone
What started as cute becomes cloying and bloated. Charm should never feel like it weighs a ton.
|
| 40 |
LA Weekly
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.
|
| 40 |
Salon.com
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.
|
| 38 |
Charlotte Observer
Long before this interminable film reaches its bogus finale, you'll realize that the people in it aren't real.
|
| 20 |
Mr. Showbiz
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.
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