Spun
Silver Nitrate | Release Date: March 14, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
41
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
7
Negative:
12
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Spun is accomplished, but it's also numbing. It's hard to have much connection to people who never connect with each other. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie is like the low-rent, road show version of those serious drug movies where everybody is macho and deadly. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverGregory Weinkauf
Akerlund and crew use their full arsenal of lenses and editing techniques in service of leaving you spun, but it's undeniable that this movie was produced by steady hands and thoughtful minds. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
A swaggering journey into hell that conveys a chortling amusement at its own apocalyptic imagination. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
Some will hate this film, but there's something delectably junky about it -- like a bright colored candy glistening from a gutter, you just have to look at it. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
The movie is both harrowing and funny, but I’m not sure the filmmakers would agree with everyone about which scenes are which. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Rourke and Roberts! Dueling kings of B-movie excess and cable-TV schlock, together again on the big screen! Talk about chemistry! Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneLoren King
Makes you want to run home and shower, but Rourke's performance gets under your skin. Read full review
60
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Outrageously grungy and whacked-out walk on the wild side. Read full review
60
EmpireDamon Wise
Yes, it’s offensive, stupid and loud, but its cartoonish, macabre wit should be evident to anyone with a brain in the first ten minutes. Whether it’s funny or not, though, is another matter entirely. Approach with extreme caution -- and/or rubber gloves. Read full review
50
Washington PostStephen Hunter
It's like the longest just-say-no commercial in history, only you'd say no not because drugs are evil but because you don't want to get a serious foot fungus. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Has no insights, no point, no urgency and no importance. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
You can't accuse the film of making speed addiction look glamorous, but the freak-show kick is too compelling for it to be called cautionary. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
As the cowboy-hatted wild man who cooks up speed in his motel-room lab, Rourke, who looks at home in his tattoos, is mesmerizingly grungy. He strikes a rare note of authenticity in this otherwise phony fandango. Read full review
40
SalonJeff Stark
The biggest problem with Spun is that it's really just about speed (and editing). And speed, like most other drugs, is in and of itself boring. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Both a madcap comedy and a cautionary tale about the dangers of drug abuse. But it's not funny or smart enough to work as either one, let alone to strike a balance. Read full review
38
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
This is a gleefully repulsive movie. Spun is bound to be described as bold and cutting-edge by those who confuse shock value with achievement. Most people, however, will just long for a shower after it's over. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Because Spun is so plotless it's almost avant-garde, we're meant to be delighted with its assortment of set pieces. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Spun is so hip it hurts. Read full review
38
New York PostMegan Lehmann
Spun is quickly exposed as being all flash, no substance. Read full review
30
Village VoiceJessica Winter
The traumatized critic must struggle to avoid capital letters in urging patrons to steer clear of the colorfully cast but unbearable Spun. Read full review
30
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
A dark comedy about speed freaks that feels like it was directed and edited by someone in the midst of a methamphetamine jag. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
Maybe it's the sight of Leguizamo running around dressed only in boots and a well-placed sock that does her in, or maybe it's just that she's seen this movie too many times before. She isn't the only one. Read full review
30
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
The title (which translates, essentially, as "burned out") is an apt description of the film itself: a hot and smoldering shell. Read full review
25
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
What's more annoying than the screenplay's relentless assaultiveness is its odd, sordid cuteness. Read full review
20
L.A. WeeklyPaul Malcolm
The freak show of druggy squalor and the wired sexuality of hardcore kink and flaccid cocks float by solely for our carnivalesque amusement. Read full review
10
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
A turkey of Rubenesque proportions. Read full review
More From This Movie

41 Critic Reviews

8.3 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL