Life of Crime
Lionsgate | Release Date: August 29, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
15
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Portland OregonianStephen WhittyAug 28, 2014
There's nothing very serious to it, perhaps. But it takes its fun very seriously indeed and – after a long summer of big-budget extravaganzas -- ends up providing a small, end-of-season delight. Read full review
80
The GuardianCatherine ShoardSep 16, 2013
It gleams with a faintly-tacky, country club sheen, as if it'd been sheep-dipped in essence of 70s and come out feeling peachy. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyAug 29, 2014
While it doesn’t hit the highs of the very best movies based on the author’s works — those would be Steven Soderbergh’s “Out of Sight” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown,” two outstanding examples of American narrative cinema of the ‘90s—it’s also far less slick and ingratiating than the watchable but very Hollywood-processed likes of “Get Shorty” and “Be Cool.” Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Aug 27, 2014
Thing is, though, for anyone familiar with the Tarantino film, this less remarkable picture will totally seem like a prequel, peering back as it does on younger versions of characters audiences got to know in "Jackie Brown." Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartAug 27, 2014
Schechter’s soul-scored film is impeccably styled for the time period, and its easy pacing reminds me of the gold standard for Leonard adaptations, “Out of Sight.” It’s not that good, but it’s within striking distance. Read full review
75
IndieWireEric KohnSep 16, 2013
It's a showcase of proficient storytelling that's eager to entertain. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranSep 4, 2014
Life of Crime has the authentic Leonard snap, crackle and pop. Read full review
70
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergAug 28, 2014
As a late-summer caper movie, it hits the spot. The film offers the intriguing contrast of actors and a director (Daniel Schechter) taking a different approach to known material. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'HehirAug 26, 2014
With the genial pairing of Jennifer Aniston as a rich guy’s trophy wife and John Hawkes as a low-rent criminal at the center of a colorful cast and a pitch-perfect rendering of caste-divided Detroit, Life of Crime is a bittersweet end-of-summer surprise. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis HarveySep 16, 2013
Flavorful yet brisk like the book, Life of Crime loses some of its source material’s character development as well as a few minor narrative pieces (the dialogue remains nearly all Leonard’s), but the excellent casting fills in any resulting gaps well enough. Read full review
63
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreAug 29, 2014
Life of Crime is lesser-Leonard, an all-star kidnapping comedy that manages to “Be Cool” even if the filmmaker never quite finds the grim faced grins that the best Elmore noirs boast. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyAug 29, 2014
All this is more amusing in theory than practice, partly because Leonard’s world of wiseguys and slapstick violence has become so familiar – the caper-movie default mode. Read full review
60
CineVuePatrick GambleSep 4, 2014
Schechter's latest marks its arrival with a fanfare of style and sass, but lacks the necessary bite to leave a lasting impression. Read full review
60
The TelegraphMike McCahillSep 4, 2014
If you’re in the market for a workaday crime story, Schechter’s film fulfills some of its obligations. You might just wish it had more life. Read full review
60
EmpireAngie ErrigoSep 1, 2014
Missing the punchy plotting of the Coens thriller it resembles, the early chuckles don't quite translate into a satisfying whole. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriAug 31, 2014
If Life of Crime transcends its lightheartedness to actually make us care for what happens to its characters, it doesn’t quite transcend its own haphazard, impoverished story. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghAug 29, 2014
Mostly, it's fine. The acting is fine. The writing is fine. The story is fine. There are a few laughs. And that should be fine enough. But with material as rich as Leonard's serving as the foundation, just fine is a disappointment. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonAug 28, 2014
One of the brighter aspects of Life of Crime, which otherwise ambles along good naturedly, is the casting. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua RothkopfAug 26, 2014
This one belongs to the women: As a gold-digging mistress, Isla Fisher does half-smart expertly, while Jennifer Aniston demonstrates her underrated timing as a wealthy kidnapping victim turned confidante. Read full review
60
The DissolveScott TobiasAug 26, 2014
A solid, middle-of-the-road Leonard adaptation that lacks the singularity to be something more. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeSep 16, 2013
Daniel Schechter's Life of Crime starts promisingly and ends with a smile but underwhelms in between. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandAug 29, 2014
Life of Crime is like an errant golf putt that appears headed for the hole, but just keeps rolling and rolling, all the way off the green. In other words, just missed . . . by a mile. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanAug 28, 2014
Life of Crime feels like a rambling car ride through the countryside with friends. The scenery is great, and the passengers are diverting, but you keep wondering where the driver is headed. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineSteve MacfarlaneAug 28, 2014
Down to its too-crisp rubber Nixon masks, Daniel Schechter's film revels in obnoxiously self-aware period detail. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMichael OrdonaAug 28, 2014
Well-made and -acted, especially by Hawkes and Fisher, if it's not exactly gripping or noir-ish. Read full review
50
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlAug 27, 2014
The comedy's too broad to take the characters seriously, and the vibe is breezily aimless, a mistake in a story about anxious waiting. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanAug 28, 2014
Ultimately it’s the cast, more than the crime, that gives this story life. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeTom RussoAug 28, 2014
The cast does capable work, but you’ll wish the movie concentrated more on the comedy, which has some zing, rather than the straighter elements, which quickly start to drag. Read full review
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