Shadowboxer
Freestyle Releasing | Release Date: July 21, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
33
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
5
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
L.A. WeeklyGreg Burk
This is a sick flick. Sick, but satisfying. A cartoonish parable in the mode of Cronenberg's "A History of Violence." Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Despite the edifying square-up -- moral lessons about family, the legacy of violence and the tenacious power of love -- the appeal is freak-show all the way. Read full review
60
VarietyRobert Koehler
Admirably jostles and upends the fatigued killer-for-hire genre. Read full review
60
The New York TimesStephen Holden
A gaudy thriller saturated in sex and violence, is an extravagance that leaves you with your mouth hanging open - partly in admiration of its audacity and partly in disbelief at its preposterousness. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerDavid Hiltbrand
A strident and shocking jumble, Shadowboxer suggests what you might come up with if you decided to inject John Huston's dark 1985 film, "Prizzi's Honor," with Oedipal overtones. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Despite the tenderness between them, Rose and her perfect younger man have the sickest mother-son relationship since Angela Lansbury and Laurence Harvey in "The Manchurian Candidate" - and Mikey seems just as brainwashed. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
In this lukewarm climate of pointless remakes and uninspired sequels there's always welcome room for a film that wants to push the envelope, Shadowboxer merely crams it with a lot of nonsense. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
If he earns no other accolades for his directorial debut - a distinct likelihood - Lee Daniels deserves some kind of award just for assembling the most bizarrely random cast of this young century. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneJessica Reaves
Gruesome and supremely disjointed foray into the world of hired assassins. Read full review
30
Village VoiceDennis Lim
This monumentally ridiculous film doesn't stop at subverting stereotypes; it discombobulates narrative logic and the basic laws of human behavior. Still, there's a certain pleasure to be derived from watching the actors attempt to dig out from under the rubble that William Lipz's screenplay repeatedly dumps on their heads. Read full review
30
Washington PostDesson Thomson
If only Shadowboxer had gone for more than an unwavering commitment to imitate better movies, it might have been one for the cult shelves at the video store. Right now, you'll be lucky if you find it in the giveaway bin. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
By the time Gooding showed up for one of his assignments disguised as a call girl, even "Boat Trip" looked good to me. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
There's no satisfaction and no pleasure to be gained by sitting through it. The characters are ludicrous and, worse than that, boring. And this is despite all the lead actors doing the best they can. Read full review
0
New York PostLou Lumenick
A couple of years ago, a disaster like Shadow boxer - with the hapless Cuba Gooding Jr. scraping below the bottom of the barrel - would have gone straight to video or been buried on an obscure cable channel at 3 a.m. Read full review
0
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
It doesn't take long to figure out that Shadowboxer 's Helen Mirren, as a cancer-ridden hitwoman, and Cuba Gooding Jr., as her doting stepson, are the most unconvincing team of hired assassins in movie history. Read full review
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