Hurricane, The

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Washington blows you away. To say he gives the performance of his career is an understatement.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Both the movie and Denzel Washington are knockouts.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Washington can bank on an Oscar nomination for the most forceful work of his career.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

This is some of the finest acting you will see on-screen, maybe ever. Single-handedly, Washington turns The Hurricane from so-so to must-see.

TNT RoughCut Morgan Fouch

One of year's most thought-provoking and soul-stirring films.

LA Weekly F. X. Feeney

This is the deepest of Jewison's three racially themed films, the other two being "In the Heat of the Night" and "A Soldier's Story."

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

Brilliantly played by Denzel Washington

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

This is one of Denzel Washington's great performances, on a par with his work in "Malcolm X."

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

Epic in nearly every way, The Hurricane has the power to blow you away.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

An expertly crafted, deeply moving film.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Jewison handles this rich tapestry of non-linear scenes with the skill of the old pro he is, and carefully modulates the drama to create the maximum emotional impact.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Washington immerses himself, even more than he did in "Malcolm X," in a stare of unforgiving outrage.

Variety Emanuel Levy

In what's easily his most zealous and fully realized performance since "Malcolm X," Washington elevates the earnest, occasionally simplistic narrative to the level of a genuinely touching moral expose.

Time Richard Schickel

In Washington's finely shaded performance he's a low-pressure system, illuminated by distant flashes of lightning.

Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday

Jewison's focus on the Canadians' dogged do-gooderism might have actually prevented a good movie from being a great one.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Milks Carter's story for maximum "inspirational" value, and at times the movie skirts dangerously close to afterschool-special territory.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

(Washington) raises it to the level of importance with an acting job that's one unbroken chain of intense emotion.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

(Washington's is) an astonishing performance, partly because it's so devoid of histrionics, and it has Oscar nomination written all over it.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The rest of this well-intentioned picture never reaches (Washington's) level of subtlety and intensity.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

Washington leans into an otherwise schlocky movie and slams it out of the ballpark.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

The narrative--a complex structure of flashbacks and shifts in perspective that's part inspirational story, part courtroom drama, part character study, part exposé--never makes it seem that history is being oversimplified.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

With power, intensity, remarkable range and an ability to disturb that is both unnerving and electric, it is more than Washington's most impressive part.

Newsweek Kevin Stuart

The dedication of the Canadian team strains belief at times, and for good reason.

Film.com Peter Brunette

An often affecting, if standard-issue, Hollywood biopic.

Village Voice Amy Taubin

Far too tepid.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The material is inherently compelling and anchored by Washington's performance.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

The story is so important and compelling that you wish Jewison had treated it more as an urgent wake-up call than a by-the-numbers morality play.

San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris

What remains is Washington's volcanic and contemplative work at the core of a film packed to the rafters with raging bull.

Dallas Observer M. V. Moorhead

(Washington's) performance is halfhearted, soft.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Feels overlong and underscripted.