Startup.com
Artisan Entertainment | Release Date: May 11, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
The film ends with a surprisingly upbeat coda. But Startup.com leaves us with a sense that our heroes' idealism will be forever lost. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
For sheer dramatic wallop outpowers virtually every fiction feature I've seen this year. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
A thrillingly, thoroughly wonderful film.
88
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
The coolest film in town offers industrial espionage, power struggles, thwarted romance, betrayal and suspense - and best of all, it's true. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
This small story that tells the much bigger story of the New Economy's bubble and burst is less a documentary than it is breaking news.
88
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
Combining the immediacy of the Internet and the wise perspective of history, Startup.com proves that investing in real-life drama can reap rich dividends. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
With no easy heroes or villains, Startup.com can be a Rorschach test for viewers. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesRobin Rauzi
Nimbly documents the rise and fall of a Web company through its charismatic leaders. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyJudith Lewis
Startup.com goes from being a mildly interesting true story to a ripping good train wreck in the making. Read full review
80
Washington PostRita Kempley
Astute and entertaining documentary. Read full review
80
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
Has all the hallmarks of a Pennebaker production. The editing is seamless, the drama builds throughout, and the arc of the central character is as shapely as in a Hollywood fiction. Read full review
80
Film.comSean Means
The result is a movie that turns the financial phenomenon of Web startups -- the crazy kids with ideas, and the crazier bankers with more money than sense -- into a moving human drama. Read full review
80
TimeRichard Schickel
This gripping documentary doesn't exactly say what went wrong, but the pain and puzzlement of its principals as things inexorably fall apart is palpable and saddening. Read full review
80
VarietyDavid Rooney
Topical film, which goes beyond its potentially dry diet of facts to incorporate the juicy human drama of Machiavellian manipulations, ambition, torn loyalties and crushing betrayal. Read full review
80
SalonJeff Stark
A story about risk, about hubris, about youth, about the old way and the new way, and about what happens when you trade everything for something that really isn't there. Read full review
80
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Delivers more suspense than a tombful of mummies. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Deep and textured drama. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Moves slowly and grimly toward the moment that for the audience is the most engrossing though filled with dread: when things begin to unravel and the participants are no longer aware of the cameras. That is when your shoulders tense and you lean toward the screen. Read full review
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
It also has heart and soul, two commodities all too often in short supply in the field of garden-variety cinema verite. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Always absorbing. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Some of the simplest shots give you the full picture of the price these guys paid for their dreams. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
If nothing else, Startup.com is a pointed reminder that mixing business and friendship never, ever works.
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
An unforgettable portrait of a testosterone-driven era. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
As an inside view of the bursting of the Internet bubble, Startup.com is definitive. Read full review
75
USA TodayMike Clark
A cautionary tale very well-told. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
An eye-opening documentary. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The giddy excitement of Startup.com comes from feeling as if you're inside the bubble as it soars into the stratosphere - and pops. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The story of the business is historically interesting, but the story of a friendship tested to the breaking point is timeless. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
There's something a bit condescending about how the movie devolves into a falling-out-between-friends scenario, as if the only way our attention could be held by this subculture were if it was presented to us sentimentally. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
The filmmakers no doubt had a hell of a time whittling the material down; unfortunately, what they came up with was something long on the mundaneness of GovWorks.com and short on the personalities behind it. Read full review
50
SlateDavid Edelstein
Some people are finding it difficult to live with the idea that Kaleil could put his employees through hell, lose $60 million of other people's money, and wind up a movie star. Read full review
40
New Times (L.A.)Gregory Weinkauf
For a general audience the entertainment factor is quite low. The project may best serve us not on the screen, but in a time capsule. Read full review
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