| 80 |
Los Angeles Times
Smart, stylish and, most important, satisfying.
|
| 80 |
Village Voice
Fleder's forgettable thriller has a convincing edge, and Douglas remains unchallenged as Hollywood's most tremulous and disquieting dad-under-pressure.
|
| 75 |
New York Daily News
A fairly nifty piece of suspense filmmaking, with a strong if relatively undemanding performance from Douglas.
|
| 70 |
Variety
Generates tension from the get-go, albeit of an increasingly unpleasant variety, on its way to a disappointingly generic climax.
|
| 67 |
Austin Chronicle
Murphy's screentime takes a back seat to Douglas', of course, but from that back seat she makes a very big noise.
|
| 67 |
Entertainment Weekly
If there's such a thing as joyless competence, it's exemplified by the grimly sensational kidnap thriller Don't Say a Word.
|
| 63 |
Chicago Tribune
Almost nothing new to offer -- despite its good actors, flashy visuals and well-textured New York gloss and grit. But there are teasing hints of another, better movie buried inside somewhere.
|
| 63 |
Chicago Sun-Times
The movie as a whole looks and occasionally plays better than it is.
|
| 63 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
I left the film wondering where at the Bellevue-like psychiatric facility that schizophrenic teenager obtained such a becoming brick-red lipstick.
|
| 50 |
Miami Herald
Staff (Not Credited)
Until it collapses into a pile of contrivances, Don't Say a Word makes for a serviceable, workmanlike thriller.
|
| 50 |
New York Post
Heartlessly efficient kidnap thriller.
|
| 50 |
TV Guide
This by-the-numbers (no pun intended) psychological thrill ride is efficient and utterly soulless.
|
| 50 |
Boston Globe
Don't Say a Word can be thought of as a case of Dial B for Boring.
|
| 50 |
Christian Science Monitor
The movie has promise as a psychological thriller, but the filmmakers show far more interest in chases and shoot-outs than characters and ideas.
|
| 42 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The movie is just grindingly by-the-numbers: an uninspired brew of all the clichés of the kidnap-thriller genre, liberally seasoned with brutality, stirred at adrenaline-rush speed by a director with a heavy hand and very little imagination.
|
| 40 |
Mr. Showbiz
This is nothing more than one more run-of-the-mill, surprise-free, suspense programmer.
|
| 40 |
Film Threat
The oh-so-convenient convergence of plot threads at the climax make the film feel that much more run-of-the-mill.
|
| 40 |
LA Weekly
Director Gary Fleder can only fling the camera about and indulge in some familiar screen sadism (and no wonder -- his last feature was "Kiss the Girls") as he tries to squeeze a few thrills from material as desiccated as his leading man.
|
| 38 |
Charlotte Observer
A miler trying to run a marathon, a fair middleweight idea trying to deliver heavyweight thrills.
|
| 38 |
Baltimore Sun
Maybe this is a psychological thriller after all: Every thinking member of the audience will be driven insane.
|
| 38 |
USA Today
Don't say you weren't warned. There are instant clues that this ill-timed Michael Douglas vehicle is a dually unfortunate viewing experience.
|
| 30 |
Washington Post
Thankfully, after its terrific start, Don't Say a Word transmogrifies so totally into Hollywood hooey that it's actually a relief. I'd hate to see a disturbance in the karmic perfection of Douglas's pitch-pure mediocrity.
|
| 30 |
New York Magazine
You would have to have been born yesterday to miss the switcheroos and reeking red herrings planted in this pulp.
|
| 30 |
New Times (L.A.)
Amid a rather routine plot and standard cop-show stylings -- just doesn't add up to much entertainment value.
|
| 30 |
Chicago Reader
This all-day sucker put me to sleep -- though it's possible I retreated out of self-defense.
|
| 25 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Don't even try to make any sense of this --none of it elicits a moment of genuine concern.
|
| 25 |
Portland Oregonian
Maybe if the story weren't so ludicrous we'd care. Or maybe if the film just went overboard with its ludicrousness, we'd be entertained, but Don't Say a Word is merely boring.
|
| 20 |
The New York Times
Confuses an empty and derivative stylistic bravura with formal cleverness, and a sterile, mechanistic sensationalism with emotional intensity.
|
| 20 |
Slate
The movie is a big, noisy mess, with a howler at its center: Overrouged psychiatrist Michael Douglas.
|
| 10 |
Wall Street Journal
This noirish, sourish thriller left me unmoving as well as unmoved.
|
| 10 |
Salon.com
A stupid, brutal and nonsensical picture.
|
| 10 |
Washington Post
The movie isn't exactly providing entertaining escape. In fact, the only escape on your mind is going to be the exit door.
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