Blood Work
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: August 9, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
9
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The strength of the picture, directed by Eastwood, is that it has three intersecting story arcs: The investigation, the health issues, and the relationship that builds, step by step. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A violent, improbable movie done in tersely elegant style, and it may be the last action movie for one of the cinema's great action stars, Clint Eastwood. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
It lets down in the last act and is probably too mired in serial-murderer-movie formulaics to garner Oscar attention. But it's his tightest, best film since "Unforgiven." Read full review
80
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Eastwood's instinct for creating efficient, adult, mainstream entertainment is virtually unerring. He's still a class act, not to mention craggy, suave, laconic and very, very cool. Read full review
80
The New YorkerDavid Denby
The movie is a methodical and entirely absorbing thriller, featuring a complicated plot (Brian Helgeland adapted the Michael Connelly novel) in which clues are carefully planted, and understanding slowly gathers in the mind of the hero. [19 & 26 August 2002, p. 174]
80
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
A bracingly no-nonsense, highly professional policier—as proudly old-fashioned as its curmudgeon hero. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Eastwood is now playing a man whose will is stronger than his body, and it's that tension -- between anger and frailty, steel and decay -- that powers the movie. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Eastwood risks embarrassment flirting with material this naked in its mawkishness, then jumps right in. He seems to want the world to know: Inside the 72-year-old body of this icon of virility beats the heart of a Mexican woman. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
As director of the movie, Eastwood takes a conservative approach, with few of the imaginative touches that have made some of his films – "Bird," "The Eiger Sanction" – so memorable. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Connelly's better-than-routine potboiler has a high-concept premise built for the movies, and it's the first of the former L.A. Times reporter's 11 crime novels to make the journey from bookshelf to big screen. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Moves along the way its leading man walks along - steady and sure. Read full review
70
The New York TimesDana Stevens
A wry exercise in geriatric uplift. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
There's a certain pleasure in seeing a thriller that's almost a relic of a bygone era. There's nothing flashy about Blood Work, no in-your-face nihilism, no hot young actors you'd know from the WB network if you ever watched it. Read full review
70
New Times (L.A.)Andy Klein
The film still delivers the goods, in part because of Eastwood's iconic presence and in part because of Daniels' scene-stealing work in what could have been a hokey role.
70
Wall Street JournalNancy deWolf Smith
In the end, though, it's all about seeing Clint Eastwood; it always was about Clint and always will be. To his fans, he's cool in every role (except, possibly, for that movie with the monkey). He can't help it. We can't help watching.
70
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
It's always nice to see Clint, and especially nice to see him play someone whose humanity -- no, whose mortality -- is all too apparent. Read full review
70
SalonCharles Taylor
As much as Eastwood ever expresses pleasure about anything, you sense a flicker of gratification that he can work with actors who can hold their own against him. Lifford does it without breaking a sweat. Howard Hawks would have loved her. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
The 72-year-old star, who is centerscreen throughout, makes this rather far-fetched yarn go down much more easily than it otherwise might have. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Eastwood's earnestness has its own stoic charm. There's something nutty but also heroic in how he plays this macho-man-with-the-heart-of-a-woman premise with a straight face. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Certainly merits attention, although it shouldn't be mistaken for one of Eastwood's greatest works. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
There are mysteries and twists in Blood Work, but its real work isn't ratiocination but healing and connection. Outwardly it's a detective story; really it's a tale of the heart. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
It's an intriguing setup, filled with colorful characters, lots of humor and well-developed scenes. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
There's also something to be said for a movie that's content with telling a simple yarn, and telling it well.
60
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Almost nothing comes as a surprise in this stately old fogy of a movie. The pacing is glacial, the screenplay is stiff as a board, and things heat up only in the movie's final scenes. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Ultimately just another Dirty Harry opus. Read full review
50
SlateDavid Edelstein
What's left is a wan and impersonal whodunnit -- a movie that never gets into your blood. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
At his best, Clint directed as he acted -- sparely, laconically, but concisely, with a clean precision. There are flashes of that trademark style early on, but it soon degenerates badly. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Eastwood has two knacks as a director/producer: He casts smaller roles well, as he did here, and he can establish an atmospheric mood, often an ominous one. But he hasn't much visual style -- for an action star. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Has the three elements we've come to expect from Eastwood: the steady pace, the shadowy cinematography and, of course, the presence of the Big Guy. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
A major misstep and a disappointment of significant proportions. It may not be a failure for Eastwood the actor, but it's a big one for Eastwood the director. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Eastwood's down-the-middle police procedural Blood Work ranks as his least ambitious work in a decade, anonymous save for his iconic screen presence and a tasteful selection of jazz on the soundtrack. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
It's merely glum when it should be bracingly grim. Read full review
38
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
If you put the word Tired first, it would perfectly describe the movie. Read full review
38
USA TodayMike Clark
Usually, I'm as slow as the pacing of a movie in figuring out who's done it. If you can't solve this mystery with an hour to go (as I did), better call for a transfusion so a better type of blood will start flowing to your brain. Read full review
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