Formula 51
Screen Gems | Release Date: October 18, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
23
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
5
Negative:
20
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
It is possible, however improbable, that a "bad" movie can still be highly enjoyable. Formula 51 is such a film. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Bloody and bloody funny, and Jackson and Carlyle make the best salt-and-pepper team since Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte knocked heads in ''48 HRS., '' but ultimately the movie can't find a way out of its own dead end. Read full review
70
Film ThreatClint Morris
Sure it’s brainless fun, but Formula 51 is a trip well worth taking. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Ray Conlogue
A formula flick. And the formula is not 51 times more entertaining than usual. Maybe 1.5, at best. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Outrageously confident and wearing a kilt through the mayhem, Jackson proves once again that he has few equals in bringing off a broad, over-the-top lead. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
Anything goes, though director Ronny Yu keeps the idiocy on a fast pace. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
A messy fish-out-of-water gangland romp. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The film should have been called ''Lock, Stock and Two Wilting Barrels.'' Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Cocky, vulgar and very noisy picture. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Passed as slowly as if I'd been sitting naked on an igloo, Formula 51 sank from quirky to jerky to utter turkey. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
It's a movie that puts Samuel Jackson in kilts, Robert Carlyle in a red Jaguar, and the audience -- if they have any sense at all -- out in the lobby, looking for another picture. Read full review
38
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
It has graceful layers and folds and a nice swing to it, and Jackson moves superbly in it. Unfortunately, I'm talking about the kilt, not the movie. Read full review
30
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Too often, Formula 51 fails to differentiate between gleeful excess and white noise. Read full review
30
Village VoiceJustine Elias
Emily Mortimer and Robert Carlyle generate heat as criminal lovers, but most of the cast just engages in embarrassing scenery-gnawing. Read full review
30
SalonJeff Stark
If explosive defecation is your idea of a laff riot, this picture -- and the Headrillaz soundtrack, by extension -- should be perfect fun. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
It isn't simple bad taste that Formula 51 deals in, but a total vacuum of feeling. Read full review
25
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A fourth-rate "Pulp Fiction" with accents you can't understand. Read full review
25
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Only Emily Mortimer maintains a measure of dignity, playing the slinky assassin named Dakota. Whether her restraint was by her design or the filmmakers', she'll come to appreciate that she all but disappears amid the caterwauling and purging of a story that should have died in Liverpool. Read full review
25
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Feels like it's been pasted together from 51 other movies -- none of them good. Read full review
25
New York PostLou Lumenick
Desperately unfunny and unexciting. Read full review
20
VarietyDerek Elley
There's an appalling amount of talent at waste up on the screen, starting with Jackson and Carlyle whose tall/short, silent/motormouth double act never clicks. Read full review
20
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
This tired action comedy is the usual weave of over-the-top violence and cross-cultural shtick. Read full review
20
L.A. WeeklyJohn Patterson
A waste of the filmmakers' time and ours, and offering further evidence that, outside the art house, much British cinema has its head jammed tightly up its own arse. Read full review
11
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
A muddled mess of bad-lad clichés, and Jackson's obvious talents only serve to point out how godawful everyone else seems to be. Read full review
10
The New York TimesDana Stevens
A witless, gruesome barrage of jokey violence and lame trans-Atlantic humor, kept moving by the pointless, derivative kineticism of Mr. Yu's hyperactive cuts and splices. Read full review
8
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
As sometimes occurs in unsupervised experiments, the result proves foul-smelling and potentially toxic.
0
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
An execrable mess that leaves no genre cliché unturned or human body or soul untrammeled. Read full review
0
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Not a second of it is believable; not a tenth of a second of it is refreshing; not a millionth of a second is worthwhile Read full review
0
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Stars Samuel L. Jackson in the worst role of his career -- one hopes. Read full review
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