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Boiler Room
New Line Cinema

Boiler Room reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 63 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.1 out of 10
based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 9 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for strong language and some drug content

Starring Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Nia Long, Ron Rifkin, Tom Everett Scott, and Ben Affleck

A riveting expose of one of the biggest and most lucrative scams in American history -- and a dramatic look at a generation obsessed with the speed of wealth and success. (New Line Cinema)


GENRE(S): Suspense/Thriller  
WRITTEN BY: Ben Younger  
DIRECTED BY: Ben Younger  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: July 11, 2000 
Video: July 11, 2000 
Theatrical: February 18, 2000 
RUNNING TIME: 119 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90
TNT RoughCut Christopher Brandon
The definitive representation of young American men at the start of the 21st century.
88
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Has the high-octane feel of real life, closely observed.
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88
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Pays off with emotional dividends well worth the time investment.
80
The New York Times Dana Stevens
Reflects the sensibility of the generation it holds up to critical scrutiny, and it's a cunningly ambiguous act of self-portraiture.
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80
Village Voice Amy Taubin
Takes us inside the consciousness and the coded masculine world of a single character.
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78
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Remarkable debut feature by New Yorker Ben Younger.
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75
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Younger, in his debut feature, is as canny as he is derivative.
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75
USA Today Mike Clark
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 Jack Mathews
Energetic, provocative.
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75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Ends up being empty, anti-climactic and overlong.
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70
Time Richard Schickel
Curiously intense, alertly principled, refreshingly uncynical movie.
70
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
The idea of the boiler room as a Y2K gladiator ring for disenfranchised youth provides a proactive new twist.
70
Dallas Observer Bill Gallo
This pitch-perfect, richly detailed portrait of raw greed works very well.
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70
Washington Post Stephen Hunter
As a piece of journalism then, Boiler Room is first class.
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70
Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
Made with confidence that borders on bravado, and sometimes it shows more conviction than it does grace.
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70
LA Weekly F. X. Feeney
You come away from Boiler Room eager to see what Younger will do next.
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67
Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson
A classic Sundance résumé movie -- texturally interesting, bubbling with ideas, and as structurally predictable as a cardboard box.
63
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
Boiler Room's behind-the-scenes veracity makes it highly compelling.
63
Boston Globe Jay Carr
Derivative and flawed. But it does throw off a few sparks.
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63
Chicago Tribune Mark Caro
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.
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60
Variety Emanuel Levy
Begins extremely well as a saga of greed and conspicuous consumption, but gradually loses its bite.
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60
Film.com Ernest Hardy
Isn't a must-see, but it's definitely worthwhile.
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60
Slate David Edelstein
If Boiler Room isn't an especially challenging movie, it's still a damn good melodrama -- a boilermaker.
Read Full Review
50
San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham
Fascinating -- up to a point.
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50
Film.com John Hartl
Fails to single out one plot thread and make a claim to it.
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50
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
First-time filmmaker Ben Younger makes not a single false move when delineating the merciless, high-testosterone world of boiler-room brokerages.
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50
San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris
Generates very little heat.
50
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Writer-director Ben Younger has sketched the foreground of this picture but never gets around to filling in the details.
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50
Los Angeles Times Eric Harrison
Tries to make larger points, but it trips over itself just trying to make the small ones.
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42
Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
Suffers by invoking better films about similar themes.
40
Film.com Robert Horton
Mostly this film skims by on the surface, its conflict and climax visible from the opening five minutes.
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38
Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday
Blessed with some outstanding performances, among them Ribisi's.
30
Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
Fast-paced editing doesn't compensate for unconvincing dialogue.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 9.1 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Felix Q. gave it a10:
Ribisi is quite decidedly my favorite actor, so I could be slightly prejudice in my opinion of this one, but I don't think so. Usually I'd balk at watching something Vin Diesel is involved in, but I actually thought he was pretty good in this. There are some unusual faces in there- Jamie Kenedy, Ben Affleck, Vin Diesel- not exactly names I'd have billed together in my mind, but it works. A movie that convince you of it's world- and the technicalities of it- always entice, even when the portrayal of the world isn't accurate. Prison movies that show the more 'durable' aspect of prison (shawshank redemption) and even movies like Sideways that are all about the specifics of the world the characters live in seem to hold allure because it offers us the chance to feel like an insider in situations we would never find our selves, and makes us feel part of a group. Hooray for Giovanni, may he live long and make many MANY more films along the same vein.

Dinu F. gave it a 2:
Usual US movie-wave. i wonder that a movie like this sells in europe.

Frampee gave it a 10:
One of my favorite all time movies. A great story line.

SHeeRaH N. gave it a 10:
This movie is Dope. Awesome as hell. one of my top favorites. all the actors are awesome: Diesel- stick with this old look, not the new. Ribisi- great job here & on the X-Files show. Affleck- i never cared for you, but then i saw this movie & i quickly changed my mind.

[Anonymous] gave it a 10:
I need not say a word............. this is a great movie.

Ryan M. gave it a 10:
This is first-rate cinema!

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