The Perfect Storm
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: June 30, 2000 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
15
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
New York PostLou Lumenick
This is one perfectly terrifying movie, an instant classic. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Nearly a perfect film, from its bold and epic man-vs.-nature conflict to the breathless scripting, editing, acting, and direction. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeJay Carr
'Titanic'' was a case of a cheeseball story riding terrific effects. The Perfect Storm is in every important way deeper. Read full review
88
Baltimore SunAnn Hornaday
Accomplishes a delicate balancing act, that of entertaining the audience with the thrills and adventure of the Andrea Gail's final journey. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A well-crafted example of a film of pure sensation. I do not mind admitting I was enthralled. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
As a movie, this is exciting stuff. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
Scary and exciting. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Dive right in if you're looking for an old-fashioned entertainment that delivers corny romance, turbulent action, and enough wave-churning seascapes to make "Titanic" seem landlocked. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
The problem with The Perfect Storm is that while its roiling collision of weather systems is pulled off with cinematic deftness, the actors who stand there getting lashed and splashed don't have anything terribly interesting to say. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Does about as good a job of simulating that terror as it possibly could, but it's no competition for what we create in our mind's eye while reading. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Unabashedly designed to blow its audience away. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Petersen's speculative reenactment makes for gripping summer entertainment -- if you don't mind a little corn floating in your brine. Read full review
70
NewsweekDavid Ansen
Impersonal Hollywood filmmaking at its most paradoxical. It keeps you glued to your seat, and leaves no aftertaste whatsoever. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Has noticeable problems with characterization and dialogue. But once that awesome storm, one of the most terrifying ever put on film, gets cranked up, it's hard to remember what those difficulties were, let alone care too much about them. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
The stick-figure people in the script haven't the slightest chance of making an impression, and you're more excited at the prospect of the next big wave? Read full review
65
TNT RoughCutSusannah Breslin
The perfect example, of how the newest visual effects movies have the capacity to overwhelm everything--from actors to plotlines--except in the end, maybe, their audiences. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
By the end, I felt like a beetle going round and round in a toilet bowl that just wouldn't stop flushing. Read full review
63
USA TodaySusan Wloszczyna
So much water. Such a dramatic washout. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
The movie is "Twister" on the high seas, a spectacular-looking, spectacularly hollow tale about foolhardy men vs. imperious nature. Read full review
63
San Francisco ExaminerWesley Morris
An enthralling special-effects tour de force with a lover's nook. Read full review
60
Film.comRobert Horton
The storm is the reason to see the movie. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Overall, the book is a far more rewarding experience than the movie. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Petersen gives us monumental images of waves and rain and wind, but the editing is so choppy that the images don't build and crest. Read full review
50
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
But jaw-dropping trailer aside, there isn't much movie here. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Rains on its own parade. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Not terrible, but distinctly disappointing, not nearly as engaging or thrilling as its premise seems to promise. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
The Perfect Storm is no "Titanic." Read full review
50
VarietyTodd McCarthy
The yarn's emotional undercurrents never take hold, resulting in a picture that leaves one thinking less about the fates of the characters than about how the actors had to spend most of their working days soaking wet. Read full review
50
TimeRichard Corliss
What's true about The Perfect Storm is true of many effects epics: it's not a bad movie, except for the people. Read full review
50
Film.comJohn Hartl
Big effects; threadbare story. Read full review
50
Film.comTom Keogh
Once at sea, The Perfect Storm collapses in a heap of spectacle and a dubious piling-on of scary incidents. Read full review
40
Rolling StonePeter Travers
It's shocking, considering the talent involved, the The Perfect Storm looks and feels fake.
40
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
The whole thing is kitsch of the most pricey sort, and it's a good guess that it will be a smash. Read full review
40
Dallas ObserverRobert Wilonsky
It may have been the perfect storm, but this is the imperfect movie. Read full review
40
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Its spectacular special effects threaten to swallow characters whole, and there are times when overwrought and clumsy dialogue... nearly pitch you right out of the movie's mood. Read full review
30
SlateDavid Edelstein
It's like a memorial service with killer special effects. Read full review
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