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In Bruges
Focus Features


8.1

based on 34 reviews
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based on 78 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language and some drug use

Starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, and Clemence Posey

Very much out of place amidst the gothic architecture, canals, and cobbled streets, the two hit men fill their days living the lives of tourists. Ray, still haunted by the bloodshed in London, hates the place, while Ken, even as he keeps a fatherly eye on Ray's often profanely funny exploits, finds his mind and soul being expanded by the beauty and serenity of the city. But the longer they stay waiting for Harry's call, the more surreal their experience becomes, as they find themselves in weird encounters with locals, tourists, violent medieval art, a dwarf American actor shooting a European art film, Dutch prostitutes, and a potential romance for Ray in the form of Chloe, who may have some dark secrets of her own. And when the call from Harry does finally come, Ken and Ray's vacation becomes a life-and-death struggle of darkly comic proportions and surprisingly emotional consequences. (Focus Features)

GENRE(S):	Action \| Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	Martin McDonagh
DIRECTED BY:	Martin McDonagh
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: June 24, 2008 Theatrical: February 8, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	107 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	UK / Belgium

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...

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

An endlessly surprising, very dark, human comedy, with a plot that cannot be foreseen but only relished.

100

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

The movie gradually deepens from odd-couple comedy into Catholic-themed drama, but it remains marvelously funny throughout. Instead of hitting the easy notes of black humor, McDonagh skillfully modulates between broad character laughs and the men's piercing anguish as the story nears its bloody conclusion.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

When it's funny, it's hilarious; when it's serious, it's powerful; and either way, it's an endless pleasant surprise.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Sharply written, superbly acted, funny and even occasionally touching.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Tightly scripted and intricately plotted, the buddy film manages the neat two-step of being simultaneously profane and engaging.

Empire Damon Wise

With In Bruges, the British gangster movie gets a Croydon facelift. It may not be new, but it’s a wonderfully fresh take on a familiar genre: fucked-up, far-out and very, very funny.

Film Threat Jeremy Mathews

In a film full of great performances, Ralph Feinnes steals the show as Harry, the boss.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

The heroes are two hit men, and the tone is often absurdist. But the film is also very funny and surprisingly affecting.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

Dark, hilarious and oddly moving.

Washington Post John Anderson

Those who know McDonagh's work know a vein of darkness will run deeply through the comedy. It has seldom been darker. Or funnier. He has made a hit-man movie in which you don't know what will happen and can't wait to find out. Every movie should be so cliched.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

A haunting and hypnotic movie, just the thing to get lost in.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

A perfectly titled and thoroughly engaging -- if at times gleefully violent -- black comedy.

Premiere Glenn Kenny

This finale, which piles one bloody absurd epiphany on top of another almost ad infinitum, is where McDonagh lays all his cards on the table -- and his characters are the ones who have to pay up.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

After playing one too many sullen poseurs it’s clear Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes had a ball making an inky black comedy seething with grandiose invective.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Witty and lively, with a soul to it, as well.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Little more than a shaggy-dog tale about two hit men killing time in the picturesque, medieval Belgian city of the title, goosed with crackling dialogue and generous dollops of gore.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

In Bruges, at its best, works like "Pulp Fiction" with Irish (and Belgian) accents, digressing into weird discourse and giving a bunch of actors the occasion to shine in small, peculiar roles.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Dry humor keeps In Bruges fresh and lively and makes it a whole lot of fun to watch.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

A dark comedy with a melancholy streak and punchy sense of humor.

Slate Dana Stevens

A jolly mess of a movie. Overplotted, choppy, and contrived, it nonetheless has a curious vitality that makes you wonder where McDonagh will go next.

The Hollywood Reporter James Greenberg

Chock full of wonderful lines delivered by a splendid cast, the film toys with the conventions and mostly transcends the limitations.

Variety Robert Koehler

Closer to pics like “The Hit” and “Miller’s Crossing” than to McDonagh’s bristling, funny plays, this half-comic, half-serious account of two Irish hitmen who are sent to the titular Belgian burg to cool their heels after a job is moderately fair as a nutty character study, but overly far-fetched once the action kicks in.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

The acting is top-notch. Colin Farrell, who seems to be gravitating increasingly toward smaller films, effectively channels his manic energy. He and Brendan Gleeson display chemistry in the Odd Couple vein, occasionally giving rise to instances of humor. Ralph Fiennes plays one of the most twisted roles of his career.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

The setting is unique, the cast is terrific, the dialogue crackles and, if only there were a plot worth believing, In Bruges might have been a fine film.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

The banter between these unlikely partners seems inspired by Quentin Tarantino's ingeniously insipid dialogue, delivered with indelible deadpan sincerity by John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson in "Pulp Fiction." Neither the dialogue nor the characters are as interesting here.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Fiennes's energy gets the film over the finish line.

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

Mr. Gleeson, Mr. Farrell and especially the late-arriving and welcome Mr. Fiennes have great fun rummaging around inside Mr. McDonagh’s modest bag of tricks.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Neither star is sloppy, but both are loose and mellow -- a couple of pros who know they're the whole show.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

It's a showpiece for that Belgian city's medieval splendor. You may want to book vacation reservations upon leaving the theater, although the memory of this underwhelming movie may tarnish the sightseeing.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

For In Bruges to click, McDonagh needed either to get more real or more fake.

Village Voice Ella Taylor

Bruges may be the movie's rather too-long-running joke, but Farrell's shaggy brow is easily the most entertaining thing in Irish playwright Martin McDonagh's first foray into the crime caper.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

The film's light comedy and dark morality make for an unsettling mix.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

As formulaic in its own way as anything mainstream Hollywood turns out, In Bruges is also a fish-out-of-water comedy.

The New Yorker Anthony Lane

No one wants a movie that tiptoes in step with political correctness, yet the willful opposite can be equally noxious, and, as In Bruges barges and blusters its way through dwarf jokes, child-abuse jokes, jokes about fat black women, and moldy old jokes about Americans, it runs the risk of pleasing itself more than its paying viewers.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 78 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Morgan C. gave it a10:
Absolutely brilliant filmmaking, cleverly written with beautiful cinematography. The end is a bit much to stomach, but completely appropriate and fitting.

Bill C gave it an8:
This film is impossible to label.It's action , drama, comedy, buddy film ,all in different proportions. I thought it was entertaining and well worth seeing.

holly c gave it a9:
Holy crap. what an amazing surprise. I can see why this film had a hard time marketing itself b/c it doesn't lend itself to slick one-liners at all. As others have said, tightly, tightly written, very well acted--genre busting story that works on so many layers it's just ridiculous! You get a drama/comedy/action-thriller/ biblical fairytale. In Bruge. rent this thing now.

Tyler M. gave it a7:
Not what I was expecting at all. The Story: Two hitmen are sent to Bruges in order to hide out... An expected call from the boss though, results in unexpected orders, for an otherwise expected outcome. It's kind of a character study in that there's a significant amount of time learning what makes these characters tick, the problem is, that (on first viewing at least) there's not much too the characters... Ray feels guilty for his past and spends most of the film trying to figure out if he deserves to live. Ken, mesmerized by the wonderland that is Bruges, finds himself worried about his friend, taking it upon himself to save his partners soul. Conflicted by the moral issues that surround his current situation and job... And than there's Harry. The boss. He's a villain that you know deep down inside you can't hate because he makes a valid point, one must pay for their own actions, accidental or not. He's not evil, though he's not nice either, he's not good but he's not bad, and you're not going to be rooting for him. The Cast: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes... Colin Farrell is Ray, guilt stricken by a hit gone terribly awry. He gives a good performance as he's eternally conflicted, he's not a man, but he feels deeply ashamed of himself for his past actions, so doesn't that mean that he should be forgiven? Or is he hopeless because he's done the unthinkable? Solid performance from start to finish. Brendan Gleeson is Ken, stuck between a rock and a hard place hit his partner or save his soul, giving him a second chance? Arguably the best performance in the film. Ralph Fiennes is Harry, a firm believer that some actions deserve certain consequences no matter what the circumstance. You know he has a heart and you know that on some level he is in fact right, but you're wishing he's wrong the entire time. Great performance, but not his best. Probably the first time that a trailer has truly influenced my score... There's no disagreeing that the trailer is about as misleading as you can possibly get. The trailer has you believing that Guy Ritchie has some competition. It's fast, it's clever, it's stylish, it's funny, and it's full of quirky or offbeat characters... The film itself is slowpaced, sometimes predictable and nowhere near as complex as you're expecting, as the quirky characters often add little to nothing to the story... I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt, I only watched it once expecting a fast paced Snatch type film, really hoping to see another Guy Ritchie on the horizon... The second time around I'm sure it will be immensely better.

Jan O. gave it an8:
Fine script, good acting, Farrell as a bad guy, solid crew. But ending is over-egged (rating - 9/10 or even 10/10 without ending; in this case - solid 8!) Recommended!

Jay H. gave it a6:
Not quite the action packed movie the cover box describes, but it is a good dark comedy/drama. The cast is very good, but the slow pace gets tedious at times. Good location filming.

Morteza H. gave it a10:
An exercise in genre blending which is second to none.

In Bruges Focus Features

In Bruges
Focus Features