21 Bridges
Concorde Filmverleih | Release Date: November 22, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
51
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
17
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawNov 22, 2019
Boseman carries off the drama with flair and style. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisNov 21, 2019
Spraying what seems like several thousand rounds of ammunition, this sturdy thriller (the big-screen feature debut of the director Brian Kirk) has no patience for nuance. It’s a big, blunt, battering ram of a movie, but it’s not dumb. Read full review
60
EmpireNick de SemlyenNov 18, 2019
With hard-boiled dialogue, sleek God’s-eye views of the city and serious talent in supporting roles, you’re not given a chance to get bored. Even so, an air of overfamiliarity hangs over proceedings. Read full review
58
Original-CinJim SlotekNov 21, 2019
There’s a lot of dubious explaining in the last act, a sure sign that a movie hasn’t done a very good job explaining itself. Read full review
58
IndieWireKate ErblandNov 18, 2019
Little of 21 Bridges ends up being that shocking — it’s tough going when the face a character makes after accepting a phone call can so easily tip off that something’s amiss — but Boseman and Miller make a solid team and creative plotting keep things moving right along. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleNov 21, 2019
But let’s be fair: If this were the first cop movie ever made, we’d be grateful for it. It holds interest. It’s never quite boring. And there are worse things you can do with your time than watch Boseman, Miller and Simmons for an hour and a half. Just know that 21 Bridges is the kind of movie you’ll forget five minutes after seeing it. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsNov 21, 2019
Before long in 21 Bridges, the extent of the corruption becomes the top line of a vision test — far too easy to spot from a distance. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreNov 21, 2019
Too little is made of the actual closure of the bridges, of the tightening net closing in on the pursued. Read full review
50
ConsequenceJames ClayNov 20, 2019
On the surface, we get a rough-and-tumble action film from the bygone era that serves up the middle-of-the-road divergences that play into a larger scheme of police corruption. However, the plotting gets tripped up by too many self-imposed obstacles that cause this otherwise breezy romp to feel weighted down by its own design. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTom RussoNov 20, 2019
Middling cop thriller, whose attention-grabbing city-on-lockdown premise is undercut by thin plotting and forced performances from the supporting cast. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerNov 20, 2019
There’s enough action to keep things moving along, but the drama is ho-hum, juiced up with a turgid soundtrack and sirens howling in the night. It’s all just so average. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeNov 18, 2019
Boseman’s role doesn’t offer nearly as much complexity as the screenwriters seem to think — which is why the movie needs an actor like him to distract us from its many plot holes and paradoxes. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonNov 18, 2019
A solid but forgettable crime thriller whose best asset is Boseman’s commanding presence. Read full review
50
TheWrapCandice FrederickNov 18, 2019
Perhaps if 21 Bridges just settled on being a mildly entertaining single-night cop thriller, it could have gotten by on its well-shot action scenes and A-list cast. But once it introduces concepts it’s unable to fulfill, it becomes a massive disappointment. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyNov 21, 2019
Watchable though the One Good Cop formula has oft proven, it’s shot through here with unearned self-regard – and turns acrid fast. Read full review
40
Total FilmJames MottramNov 18, 2019
A generic cop thriller that rumbles along thanks to a quality cast but ultimately offers nothing fresh. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyNov 18, 2019
The ever-righteous profile maintained by Boseman’s detective gets to be a bit limiting after a while; if anything was going to have multiple dimensions in this film, it should have been him, but the script is instead built around the goal of providing maximum movement and hoped-for tension. It’s got the former but only sporadically achieves the latter. Read full review
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