Cop Car
Focus World | Release Date: August 7, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
66
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorSep 3, 2015
Director Jon Watts is smart enough never to deviate from a narrow vision that he executes superbly. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperAug 13, 2015
Watts achieves a kind of early Coen brothers, early Tarantino feel. Read full review
83
IndieWireIbad ShahFeb 1, 2015
The movie doesn't offer much in the way of substantial character development, but that's not a deterrent when the fun twists keep coming. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriAug 9, 2015
Cop Car does enough things so well for so long that to quibble with its finale feels churlish. This is a film very much worth seeing. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJordan HoffmanAug 5, 2015
Despite the real, bloody stakes, Cop Car keeps a boyish sense of action and adventure through to a twist ending. You have a right to remain thrilled. Read full review
80
The GuardianBrian MoylanFeb 1, 2015
The movie culminates in a tense, protracted standoff that keeps the audience on edge for way longer than is comfortable. I mean that as a compliment. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonAug 7, 2015
The plot description is a good old-fashioned okey-doke, a distraction that lulls you with its absurdity so you’ll be blindsided by the lean, suspenseful and effective movie director Jon Watts delivers. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloAug 6, 2015
A surprisingly nasty piece of work, more reminiscent of old John Dahl thrillers from the ’90s (Red Rock West, The Last Seduction) than of "Let’s Be Cops." Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAug 13, 2015
Bacon can play just about anything, and he’s having a good time here as a guy not quite smart enough to keep himself out of trouble, but wily enough to try to dig himself out of it. It’s fun to watch. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla DargisAug 6, 2015
It’s an extremely well-lubricated entertainment machine filled with attractive images and wall-to-wall appealing performances. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeJul 27, 2015
Watts demonstrates masterful control, pushing right up against the limits of what we can take (even non-parents will be rattled watching the boys mishandling loaded weapons), and yet, at every turn, the screenplay falls short of the picture’s full potential, missing opportunities that could have made this a classic. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAug 5, 2015
Director Watts has a background in comedy direction, and a thin, sticky stream of exceptionally dark humor flows through the otherwise gut-churning realism of Cop Car. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenAug 3, 2015
The narrative derives much of its tension from the unsentimental ambivalence Jon Watts displays toward the story's two pre-teen boys. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleAug 6, 2015
There's no denying Watts' skill at a certain kind of desolate cat and mouse, but it's in the service of what is ultimately a somewhat heartless exercise. Read full review
60
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlAug 4, 2015
The film soars early as a fantasy steeped in life and crashes into a drag of a crime drama, one ripped from the movies rather than anyone's idea of small-town Colorado. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyAug 6, 2015
Cop Car feels like a great short stretched into a mediocre feature. Read full review
58
HitfixGregory EllwoodAug 4, 2015
Watts co-wrote the screenplay with Christopher D. Ford (“Robot & Frank”) and, frankly, it’s not as clever or compelling as it wants to be.... The filmmaker does deserve credit, however, for conjuring up some nicely tense cinematic moments. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanAug 13, 2015
The film is full of quiet little truths. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyFeb 1, 2015
A potentially fun premise soon turns into no fun at all in Cop Car, a seriously imagination-challenged low-end action thriller. Read full review
50
The PlaylistKate ErblandFeb 1, 2015
Watts’ film is comprised of terrible coincidences, bad mustaches and a pervasive sense of desperation. It’s also wholly unable to live up to its obvious promise. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle SmithAug 5, 2015
Cop Car is an instance of what happens when an airy indie filmmaker tries to “do genre” and winds up being as convincing as John Kerry putting down his demitasse and dressing up in hunting gear. Read full review
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