High Crimes
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: April 5, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
21
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Stylish and effective, if slightly overlong, thriller. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Has some faults, but it manages to keep its audience either angry or jumpy from start to finish. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Comes across as gratifying, not grating: the same way the familiarity of a well-crafted whodunit is part of the book's pleasures. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
This is the second movie Judd and Freeman have made together (after "Kiss the Girls" in 1997). They're both good at projecting a kind of Southern intelligence that knows its way around the frailties of human nature. Read full review
70
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Satisfies a hunger for the basics: a decent mystery to chew on, a bit of juicy suspense, maybe a plot twist as garnish. The fare is all on the standard menu, but it goes down well just the same. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Franklin injects life into a flat format and has in the process done something nearly unheard of in Hollywood as of late: He's brought class back to the genre film. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Even if it lacks the finesse of Franklin's earlier work, High Crimes moves like a bullet. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
It's still a disappointment: a well-mounted and well-acted suspense movie that, thanks to its illogical script, falls off a cliff midway through. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Ms. Judd commands the screen with consistent authority, and Mr. Freeman brings expansive humor to the role of a self-styled wildcard who's still dangerous in court.
60
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
The problem with High Crimes, acceptable though it is, is that it's not close to anyone's best work. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Franklin directs smoothly, but except for Freeman, the theatrics are pretty pro forma. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
The biggest offense in the somewhat unimaginative but serviceable legal thriller High Crimes is that the venerable Morgan Freeman simply does not get enough screen time, and when he's up there, he doesn't have enough to do. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
This is very much a ''woman's picture,'' driven by a twin rudder of anxiety and empowerment. Read full review
50
The New York TimesDana Stevens
For his part. Mr. Freeman shows himself, once again, incapable of giving a bad performance. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Every minute of the film is trash, and director Carl Franklin seems to know it. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The story has possibilities, but you'll spot the big plot twists long before they happen, and the acting by Judd and Cavaziel is strictly by the numbers. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Judd has genuine movie star magnetism -- beauty, intelligence, presence and talent to spare. In the old studio days, she'd be Ingrid Bergman by now.
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The chief pleasure of High Crimes (and it's a limited one) comes from watching Morgan Freeman, who can bring a sense of integrity to even the silliest thriller. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Undermined by contrived suspense sequences, a pointless subplot involving Claire's flaky, trashy sister, and a formulaic thriller ending. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
It's terribly predictable and often risible stuff. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
It's no crime the movie has one or two endings too many, given that many thrillers of the past quarter-century have had the same. But Judd's latest is too harmless to be anything but a misdemeanor. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
While its blowout finale is telegraphed long before the first act ends, and too much else is just as obvious and bland, Judd, Freeman and Franklin never stop adding filigree. The big picture isn't much to look at, but the detailing isn't bad. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
It's hard to see Franklin's fingerprints on the material. It's as if he directed with his gloves on. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
This thing's got more plot than an Alliance convention. Unfortunately (to extend the comparison), not a whole lot of it makes a lick of common sense. Read full review
40
Film ThreatMichael Dequina
Washes away whatever unique filmmaking personality Franklin has. Read full review
40
VarietyRobert Koehler
Judd now is top-billed, but her performance is so resolutely humorless and businesslike that Freeman's gruffly affectionate warmth becomes doubly valuable, though not nearly enough to lend this generic project any special character. Read full review
40
New Times (L.A.)Luke Y. Thompson
Film falls into the same trap as the book: a moderately interesting setup ultimately undone by an ending that makes the audience feel like fools for investing any sympathy with the characters. Read full review
40
SalonCharles Taylor
High Crimes does offer good, often sharp and funny work from its two stars. But you can't fake excitement, and it's a lousy feeling to know that the best commercial movie I can point you to right now is this shallow, self-erasing nonsense. Read full review
40
SlateDavid Edelstein
The strands in High Crimes don't coalesce. Those red herrings somehow take over the picture; the thing itself turns into a giant red herring. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Once, for no reason, Franklin whirled the camera around 360 degrees while two people were having an ordinary conversation. I suspect he must have been as bored by then as I was. Read full review
30
Village VoiceNick Rutigliano
Secret trials and buried atrocities are no match for a plucky (and rich, and svelte) young heroine, least of all Ms. Ashley Judd, who eyebrow-cocks her way through Carl Franklin's witless High Crimes. Read full review
30
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
A major disappointment that lacks the courage to follow through on its premise's themes. Read full review
20
Washington PostStephen Hunter
All in all, High Crimes isn't worth the crayons it took to write the script. Read full review
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