| 90 |
TNT RoughCut
The definitive representation of young American men at the start of the 21st century.
|
| 88 |
Chicago Sun-Times
Has the high-octane feel of real life, closely observed.
|
| 88 |
New York Post
Pays off with emotional dividends well worth the time investment.
|
| 80 |
The New York Times
Reflects the sensibility of the generation it holds up to critical scrutiny, and it's a cunningly ambiguous act of self-portraiture.
|
| 80 |
Village Voice
Takes us inside the consciousness and the coded masculine world of a single character.
|
| 78 |
Austin Chronicle
Remarkable debut feature by New Yorker Ben Younger.
|
| 75 |
Entertainment Weekly
Younger, in his debut feature, is as canny as he is derivative.
|
| 75 |
USA Today
Shouldn't be overrated, but it's the first film of the year - and it's mid-February already - capable of keeping a grown-up awake.
|
| 75 |
New York Daily News
Energetic, provocative.
|
| 75 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Ends up being empty, anti-climactic and overlong.
|
| 70 |
Dallas Observer
This pitch-perfect, richly detailed portrait of raw greed works very well.
|
| 70 |
Rolling Stone
The idea of the boiler room as a Y2K gladiator ring for disenfranchised youth provides a proactive new twist.
|
| 70 |
Time
Curiously intense, alertly principled, refreshingly uncynical movie.
|
| 70 |
LA Weekly
You come away from Boiler Room eager to see what Younger will do next.
|
| 70 |
Washington Post
As a piece of journalism then, Boiler Room is first class.
|
| 70 |
Salon.com
Made with confidence that borders on bravado, and sometimes it shows more conviction than it does grace.
|
| 67 |
Mr. Showbiz
A classic Sundance résumé movie -- texturally interesting, bubbling with ideas, and as structurally predictable as a cardboard box.
|
| 63 |
Miami Herald
Boiler Room's behind-the-scenes veracity makes it highly compelling.
|
| 63 |
Boston Globe
Derivative and flawed. But it does throw off a few sparks.
|
| 63 |
Chicago Tribune
For a movie that begins so intriguingly, Boiler Room becomes boilerplate all too quickly.
|
| 60 |
Newsweek
Andrea C. Basora
Tries too hard to prove it has a "heart" when the whole point is that its subjects do not.
|
| 60 |
Variety
Begins extremely well as a saga of greed and conspicuous consumption, but gradually loses its bite.
|
| 60 |
Film.com
Isn't a must-see, but it's definitely worthwhile.
|
| 60 |
Slate
If Boiler Room isn't an especially challenging movie, it's still a damn good melodrama -- a boilermaker.
|
| 50 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Fascinating -- up to a point.
|
| 50 |
Los Angeles Times
Eric Harrison
Tries to make larger points, but it trips over itself just trying to make the small ones.
|
| 50 |
Film.com
Fails to single out one plot thread and make a claim to it.
|
| 50 |
TV Guide
First-time filmmaker Ben Younger makes not a single false move when delineating the merciless, high-testosterone world of boiler-room brokerages.
|
| 50 |
San Francisco Examiner
Generates very little heat.
|
| 50 |
Charlotte Observer
Writer-director Ben Younger has sketched the foreground of this picture but never gets around to filling in the details.
|
| 42 |
Portland Oregonian
Suffers by invoking better films about similar themes.
|
| 40 |
Film.com
Mostly this film skims by on the surface, its conflict and climax visible from the opening five minutes.
|
| 38 |
Baltimore Sun
Blessed with some outstanding performances, among them Ribisi's.
|
| 30 |
Chicago Reader
Fast-paced editing doesn't compensate for unconvincing dialogue.
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