The Crimson Rivers
TriStar Pictures | Release Date: June 29, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
10
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A breathtaking exercise in the macabre, a gruesome thriller with quirky cops and a killer of Lecterian complexity, and even when the movie is perfect nonsense, it's so voluptuous that you're grateful to be watching it anyway. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeJay Carr
The Crimson Rivers could teach many an American thriller a thing or two about sophisticated creepiness. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Does not end well. But there's a lot of pleasure in getting there. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Kassovitz keeps the film zipping along with solid pacing and just enough action to clear the credibility gaps as long as the film is rolling. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
A confusing and not entirely believable ending clouds the issue, though, burying some fine performances and cinematography under an avalanche of gore and plot twists.
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
More amiably mindless summer distraction than just about anything Hollywood has to offer this season. Read full review
60
Mr. ShowbizMichael Atkinson
Glossy, gruesome police drama.
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
For most of its running time, this lunatic euro-thriller is creepy, stylish and occasionally suspenseful. Read full review
60
Village VoiceJessica Winter
Never lacks for energy, and the director and his stars stride with focused confidence through the hooey. Read full review
50
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Two things make this film slightly more interesting than its American B-movie equivalents. There's the artless way it shows the French state exercising its power and the charisma of French stars.
50
VarietyLisa Nesselson
Adequately entertaining but not particularly memorable. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Wants to be about life, death and the red liquid that flows beneath our skin. It ends up being more about stage blood and stupid plot tricks. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
Dull and unpleasant. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Never lets up: A door can't shut without sounding like a bomb going off; mutilated bodies show up with clockwork punctuality, gratuitously underscored by a relentlessly overbearing soundtrack. Read full review
40
The New York TimesStephen Holden
The full explanation for the movie's graphically depicted horrors is preposterous even by the almost-anything- goes standards of the action-thriller conspiracy genre. Read full review
40
Washington PostStephen Hunter
The French now proudly prove they can make a big stupid violent cop movie, just like our gifted Hollywood professionals. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
Not even the strong, reflective, world-weary presence of Reno or Cassel's energy can make a dent in a movie in which suspense and tension dissipate quickly, with action sequences not spectacular enough to compensate. All that's left is gratuitous gore. Read full review
30
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Makes you gag. Read full review
30
New Times (L.A.)Gregory Weinkauf
Any cassette of "Millennium" would serve up better thrills and chills. Read full review
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