Boiler Room

TNT RoughCut Christopher Brandon

The definitive representation of young American men at the start of the 21st century.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Has the high-octane feel of real life, closely observed.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Pays off with emotional dividends well worth the time investment.

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.

Village Voice Amy Taubin

Takes us inside the consciousness and the coded masculine world of a single character.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Remarkable debut feature by New Yorker Ben Younger.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Younger, in his debut feature, is as canny as he is derivative.

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.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Energetic, provocative.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Ends up being empty, anti-climactic and overlong.

Dallas Observer Bill Gallo

This pitch-perfect, richly detailed portrait of raw greed works very well.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

The idea of the boiler room as a Y2K gladiator ring for disenfranchised youth provides a proactive new twist.

Time Richard Schickel

Curiously intense, alertly principled, refreshingly uncynical movie.

LA Weekly F. X. Feeney

You come away from Boiler Room eager to see what Younger will do next.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

As a piece of journalism then, Boiler Room is first class.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Made with confidence that borders on bravado, and sometimes it shows more conviction than it does grace.

Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson

A classic Sundance résumé movie -- texturally interesting, bubbling with ideas, and as structurally predictable as a cardboard box.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Boiler Room's behind-the-scenes veracity makes it highly compelling.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Derivative and flawed. But it does throw off a few sparks.

Chicago Tribune Mark Caro

For a movie that begins so intriguingly, Boiler Room becomes boilerplate all too quickly.

Newsweek Andrea C. Basora

Tries too hard to prove it has a "heart" when the whole point is that its subjects do not.

Variety Emanuel Levy

Begins extremely well as a saga of greed and conspicuous consumption, but gradually loses its bite.

Film.com Ernest Hardy

Isn't a must-see, but it's definitely worthwhile.

Slate David Edelstein

If Boiler Room isn't an especially challenging movie, it's still a damn good melodrama -- a boilermaker.

San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham

Fascinating -- up to a point.

Los Angeles Times Eric Harrison

Tries to make larger points, but it trips over itself just trying to make the small ones.

Film.com John Hartl

Fails to single out one plot thread and make a claim to it.

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.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

Generates very little heat.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Writer-director Ben Younger has sketched the foreground of this picture but never gets around to filling in the details.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Suffers by invoking better films about similar themes.

Film.com Robert Horton

Mostly this film skims by on the surface, its conflict and climax visible from the opening five minutes.

Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday

Blessed with some outstanding performances, among them Ribisi's.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

Fast-paced editing doesn't compensate for unconvincing dialogue.