Bomb the System
Palm Pictures | Release Date: May 27, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
8
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Film ThreatEric Campos
Excellent acting, great music, amazing artwork and gorgeous Christopher Doyle type cinematography make this film an absolute treat to sit through. It's like a big piece of candy. Read full review
80
VarietyDavid Rooney
A richly textured drama with an angry poetic edge that gets inside the obsessive subculture of New York graffiti artists, Bomb the System signals the arrival of a talented filmmaker in NYU film graduate Adam Bhala Lough. Read full review
70
Village VoicePeter L'Official
A needlessly circuitous plot twist leaves a bitter taste, but not before the film's scruffy charm does its work. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Bomb the System, which rides on a subtle hip-hop soundtrack, might be described as soulful pulp; cult recognition awaits it. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
In the end it's all seductive surface and no substance, but Lough has a bold eye and a vivid sense of uniquely urban beauty. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Has an exhilarating edge. It's only when they open their mouths that the movie gets into trouble. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
Should attract some interest in urban theatrical situations before settling into cult video status. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Well acted and ably directed, if not very probing about its subject of underclass youth. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
Hurting the film is the fact that the central character, Anthony, is so self-absorbed. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
The first feature from Adam Bhala Lough is brashly passionate in its desire to express the power and validity of graffiti art. But it's also preachy and single-minded, populated by a world of sympathetic heroes and hissable villains. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Visually dazzling and dramatically trite -- it's virtuoso piffle. Read full review
42
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
The film half-heartedly paints their actions as rebel-chic heroism even when it has all the integrity of tomcats spraying outside their yards, and it ends up just as confused as the characters. Read full review
38
New York PostLou Lumenick
A mild, slow-moving drama that belatedly tries to argue that graffiti writers are political artists, not an urban blight. Read full review
30
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
As Bomb snakes its way toward tragedy, it grates rather than entices. The actors come off more as poseurs than as characters, and the film's political and cultural insights are superficial and old hat. Read full review
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