Hoodlum
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | Release Date: August 27, 1997 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
50
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
5
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Washington PostStephen Hunter
You can feel Hoodlum hungering to be bigger than it possibly can be. It wants to be "The Godfather" of African Americans, a vast tale of crime and heroism and nerve and ambition. But it tries too hard and ends up feeling spotty rather than deep. [27Aug1997 Pg D.01] Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
And while Mr. Duke's direction has visual panache, the movie is unevenly paced. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Laurence Fishburne and Tim Roth play the main characters with conviction, but Bill Duke's punchy filmmaking style banishes any hope of storytelling subtlety or psychological nuance. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
At the very least, Hoodlum might have been better off had it been filmed in monochromatic black-and-white instead of the garish color palette (and plenty of gore) that Duke opted for because they, unfortunately, only reinforce the hamminess of the picture. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineSandra Contreras
Uneven and inaccurate as it may be, it's hard to wash out entirely with a movie that explores as neglected an aspect of classic gangster mythology as this one; at the same time, you can't help but wish it did so more successfully. Read full review
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