The Big Easy
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: August 21, 1987 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The Big Easy is one of the richest American films of the year. It also happens to be a great thriller. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneGene Siskel
The film's strength is director Jim McBride's seemingly easy way of presenting us with a New Orleans that is more malevolent and intoxicating than the tourist trap that some think it to be. Read full review
88
Washington PostHal Hinson
The Big Easy, starring Ellen Barkin and Dennis Quaid, is the sexiest, most companionable movie of the summer. Set in New Orleans, it's an amiable, loping, goof of a movie, with charm to burn and not a thought in its head. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesSheila Benson
Eventually the film's suspense underpinnings take over its personal story, yet that tension Quaid and Barkin generate still holds. Read full review
80
Orlando SentinelJay Boyar
The Big Easy is as atmospheric as they come, but -- surprise! -- it's also sharp and swift. Plus, it has ample amounts of chemistry -- the steamy, sexy kind. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
The Big Easy is an extremely enjoyable (and well-lubricated) vehicle for two actors who aren't quite yet stars, but should be. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineStaff [Not Credited]
Colorful Cajun noir, spicy, romantic, efficient. Read full review
70
TimeRichard Schickel
A movie that manages to be atmospherically rich while also satisfying the slash-crash imperatives of the police-action genre. Read full review
70
VarietyStaff [Not Credited]
Until conventional plot contrivances begin to spoil the fun, The Big Easy is a snappy, sassy battle of the sexes in the guise of a melodrama about police corruption. Read full review
50
The New York TimesVincent Canby
The screenplay, by Daniel Petrie Jr. and Jack Baran, has a number of funny lines and situations, but the end result looks fiddled with by people attempting to ''fix'' things. Read full review
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