Cruel Intentions
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) | Release Date: March 5, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
8
Negative:
4
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Washington PostDesson Thomson
A witty, raunchy comedy, which proves that a well-written piece of business – oozing with sex, wit and nasty intrigue – works for any generation. Read full review
80
SalonCharles Taylor
The dirtiest-minded American movie in recent memory -- and an honestly corrupt entertaining picture is never anything to sneeze at. Read full review
80
Film.comElizabeth Weitzman
Don't be fooled by the WB appeal; if you've ever been in high school, Cruel Intentions has the wiles to seduce. Read full review
80
VarietyEmanuel Levy
Nasty, profane and wickedly entertaining for the most part. Read full review
80
Washington PostStephen Hunter
The original was about social manipulation as blood sport. Amazing how easily it transports, themes intact, to our blighted decade, and to our children. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It crash-lands with an ending of soppy moralizing, but until the end, it's smart and merciless in the tradition of the original story. Read full review
70
Film.comJohn Hartl
The darkly comic tone is often just right, and the casting occasionally pays off. Read full review
70
NewsweekB.J. Sigesmund
You won't be able to resist the film's ribaldry and cynicism. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Neither the characters nor the events are exactly the same as those of the novel, but some of the same spirit comes across. Read full review
70
New Times (L.A.)Andy Klein
As the story plows toward its finale, the cultural dislocation problems become worse, until by the end they almost defeat the whole film. Read full review
70
Village VoiceDennis Lim
A "guilty pleasure" -- only it's the sort of film that would mock anyone who felt guilt in pleasure. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Never shocks or even offends by ascribing fully adult cruelties and erotic activities to obnoxious kids; such harshness wouldn't flatter a cast this moussed and magazine-layout-ready. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
It's tremendous fun, thanks largely to a smarter-than-average script and some fierce casting. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
As Cruel Intentions progresses, you may come to realize that if a bomb suddenly blew up everyone on screen, you wouldn't particularly miss anyone. Read full review
50
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
It's fun, but the blatant, obvious kind that mistakes allusive cool for mature filmmaking and subtle ideasmanship. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
In truth, the only reason this film was made was to allow viewers to ogle pretty young things behaving badly. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
It is maliciously entertaining, up to a point. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
You have the queasy sense that the whole thing is just an elaborate stunt, and in this case an exploitative one. Read full review
40
Film ThreatRon Wells
In the end, the whole shebang comes off like a bunch of snotty, rich white kids screwing each other and screwing each other over. Read full review
40
The New YorkerDavid Denby
It's not boring (given the subject, how could it be?), but almost nothing in it works. Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
No amount of youthful charisma can alter the fact that, in the light of "Dangerous Liaisons", Cruel Intentions is a feeble and dissatisfying shadow. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It works only sporadically, and more as a comic outing than as a vicious battle of sexual predation. Read full review
20
Rolling StonePeter Travers
It's not the trite talk that sends Cruel Intentions into a tailspin, it's the lightweight casting. Read full review
20
Film.comGemma Files
Mr Kumble: Keep your hands off the classics! You don't deserve to read them, let alone paraphrase them. Read full review
More From This Movie

56 Critic Reviews

8.4 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL