The Devil's Own
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: March 26, 1997 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
13
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
TimeRichard Schickel
More important, we should take into account the fact that this is really quite a good movie--a character-driven (as opposed to whammy-driven) suspense drama--dark, fatalistic and, within its melodramatically stretched terms, emotionally plausible. Read full review
90
The New York TimesElvis Mitchell
Mr. Pitt moves through this unexpectedly solid thriller with dazzling confidence, showing off all the star power that he usually works overtime to hide. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
In this quiet, absorbing, shades-of-gray drama, a kind of thriller meditation on the schism in Northern Ireland, we get the story of not one but two powerfully opposing heroes. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
As a well-directed star vehicle with a couple of good action sequences, this is good, effective filmmaking, but I was periodically bored; when Ford and Pitt aren't lighting up the screen nothing much happens. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
That the would-be buddies are played by Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt ensures enough star power to keep things moving even during the sluggish early scenes that set up their relationship. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
The Devil's Own is neither the best nor the worst $90 million-$100 million-area budgeted picture ever made, but it must be the one in which the cost is least evident on the screen. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubJohn Krewson
What makes it worth the price of admission is the energetic performance Ford pulls off in the cookie-cutter role of big-city cop. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRussell Smith
The script, partly written by an uncredited Terry George ("Some Mother's Son," "In the Name of the Father") strains mightily for insight but never quite breaks through. Read full review
63
USA TodayMike Clark
Though Hour 2's heavy emphasis on physical and emotional confrontations stimulates dramatic momentum, this respectable superstar meeting is finally, of all things, ordinary. [26Mar1997 Pg04.D]
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The moral reasoning in the film is so confusing that only by completely sidestepping it can the plot work at all. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Part of the reason The Devil's Own is endurable is because, in spite of various script deficiencies, both of the stars -- Pitt and Harrison Ford -- have an undeniable screen presence. And, while star power can't save a sinking movie, it can at least keep it afloat longer. Read full review
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