The Bone Collector
Universal Pictures | Release Date: November 5, 1999 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
45
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
22
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Film.comErnest Hardy
Although the film disappoints in the final stretch (both the villain and his motive turn out to be very lame), it confidently thrills for most of its nearly two-hour length. Read full review
60
NewsweekEric S. Arnold
May be formulaic...but many good recipes are. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Quickly assumes the characteristics of a bad slasher movie. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
This mild thriller's consistently dark atmosphere makes the scene-of-the-crime tableaux...transcend exploitation and even suggest a kind of feminist odyssey. Read full review
50
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
This is neither a psychological thriller nor an erotic one, so any interest in the story is purely the work of its stars.
50
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
The ending stinks.
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
A cinematic game that might be called Urban Creep Show, New York-style. Read full review
50
SalonStephanie Zacharek
There's only one good reason to see The Bone Collector, and her name is Angelina Jolie. Read full review
50
TimeRichard Schickel
It's kind of fun--if you have the stomach for its more grisly passages. Read full review
50
Film.comRobert Horton
Sometimes star power alone can keep you from walking out of a movie, and this is one of those times. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The quality of the acting is so much better than the material deserves. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
A middling urban thriller that's one part "Rear Window" and three parts "Seven." Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Often falls flat. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
This variation on the "Rear Window" format works best when director Noyce gives free rein to Washington's thoughtful charm. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Climaxes in an ending of such sleazy preposterousness that it's almost worth the price of admission alone. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Two gifted co-stars, Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie, and the highly imaginative thriller specialist Phillip Noyce lend some luster and credibility to another borderline-absurd scenario.
50
VarietyDennis Harvey
Entertaining but never fully engrossing. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldSara Wildberger
The plot and characters are simultaneously far-fetched and cliched, the dialogue has that jocular, slightly slower than sitcom ring, and the ending is a righteously cheesy letdown.
50
Portland OregonianDiana Abu-Jaber
The movie's atmosphere is moody and intense, bubbling like a caldron. Unfortunately, the broth turns out to be stone soup.
40
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Abandon all hope of logic, you who enter here.
40
Washington PostStephen Hunter
You may have as much fun tearing it apart in its aftermath as you do watching it, but the fun is still genuine. Read full review
40
SlateDavid Edelstein
A piece of exploitive schlock. Read full review
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