Tower Heist
Universal Pictures | Release Date: November 4, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 39 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
20
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
New York PostKyle SmithNov 4, 2011
This movie doesn't get huffy, it gets laughs. Read full review
80
Boxoffice MagazinePete HammondNov 3, 2011
A highly entertaining and heartfelt action comedy that ought to steal more laughs than any other film this holiday season. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyOct 31, 2011
A smoothly engineered crowd pleaser. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesNov 3, 2011
To a one, they nail the humor, all right, but they also, quite crucially, humanize the high concept. Read full review
75
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallNov 4, 2011
As far as sophisticated caper flicks go, Tower Heist is oceans away from George Clooney's crew. Compared to other recent comedies, it's pretty light on the laughs. Read full review
75
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottNov 4, 2011
It keeps things light and entertaining. And for $8 admission, that's never a bad investment. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisNov 3, 2011
Smoothly made and smart enough. It's not going for too much, but I laughed a lot. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsNov 3, 2011
For what it is - recessionary wish-fulfillment escapism, with a lot of highly skilled familiar faces in its amply qualified cast - it's fun. Read full review
75
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreNov 2, 2011
A winning "Robin Hood and his Merry Doormen" comedy about getting even. A cast of comedy specialists each deliver their comic specialties to perfection, delivering double-takes and one liners so well that you don't notice how clunky the actual caper in this caper comedy is. Read full review
70
MovielineStephanie ZacharekNov 3, 2011
Tower Heist is overstuffed with actors, and yet Ratner manages to give each of them one or two good moments. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzNov 2, 2011
You can't help leaving the film with the following thought: Man, it's good to see Murphy being funny again. Read full review
70
Village VoiceNick PinkertonNov 1, 2011
More than the marquee names, the second bananas keep the movie bobbing along: Broderick's pharmaceutically vague hangdog act is perfect ("If you need me, I'll be living in this box"), while Peña turns out to be a fine comedian, an enthusiastically yipping dumb puppy here. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinOct 31, 2011
A shameless but exuberantly well-done caper comedy. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyNov 4, 2011
Tower Heist is as over-inflated as those Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons that are featured in the movie's climax. Also similarly, it's entertaining in its own predictable way. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter TraversNov 3, 2011
There's not much to say about a jerry-built caper comedy, except that this one has timeliness on it side, and some first-rate clowns. Read full review
63
Washington PostAnn HornadayNov 3, 2011
An improbably satisfying action comedy. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaNov 3, 2011
Devoting more time to the setup than to the follow-through, Tower Heist doesn't really build suspense so much as it builds impatience - for the thing to be over. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertNov 2, 2011
The movie is broad and clumsy, and the dialogue cannot be described as witty, but a kind of grandeur creeps into the screenplay by Ted Griffin and Jeff Nathanson. Read full review
60
EmpireNick de SemlyenNov 6, 2011
Fun if uneven stuff from Ratner. A welcome return to form for Eddie Murphy and an even-more-welcome turn by the ever-excellent Alan Alda. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyNov 3, 2011
Tower Heist might not be a classic (it's not), but at least for a little while it will make you laugh instead of cry about the current state of affairs, which is more than you can say about a lot of things. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesNov 3, 2011
Highly recommended if you want to watch an assortment of rich movie stars feel your pain. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNov 3, 2011
Boasts an unusually strong cast of actors, who boost the slick screenplay into a satisfying popcorn picture. Read full review
60
SalonAndrew O'HehirNov 2, 2011
Tower Heist is funny in the way of so many Hollywood comedies, meaning that individual scenes are often crisply written and played, but the whole doesn't add up to anything. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerNov 4, 2011
If this film turns out to be a big success, malls everywhere may want to hire more security. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianShawn LevyNov 3, 2011
Doesn't demand much of the audience, sure, but it doesn't provide much, either. It's as if an all-star gang of would-be crooks got together to rip off...moviegoers. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubNathan RabinNov 3, 2011
In the end, Tower Heist isn't a black Ocean's Eleven or a bold leap forward for feature-film distribution, just a passable piece of commercial entertainment that falls closer to product than art. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumNov 2, 2011
Tower Heist is the cinematic version of a Trump property: overblinged, eye-catching, and essentially tacky. Read full review
50
SlateDana StevensNov 3, 2011
The combined efforts of this fine ensemble cast make Tower Heist go down easier than it otherwise might, but the film's potential as a buddy comedy is sadly wasted. Read full review
50
USA TodayScott BowlesNov 3, 2011
Tower Heist feigns being an "Ocean's 11" for schmucks, but plays like a retread of "48 Hours." Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottNov 3, 2011
Tower Heist could and should have been much more. Mr. Ratner goes for the safe bet and the easy score. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonNov 3, 2011
The type of film with which Mr. Ratner has claimed to be infatuated is itself like a caper - it requires precise execution. Tower Heist is more like that 10-story Snoopy, as he drunkenly bobs along Central Park West. Read full review
50
TimeMary PolsNov 3, 2011
Twice as funny as I thought it would be but not half as funny as it could have been. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliNov 3, 2011
The caper is a dud - so stupid and implausible from beginning to end that it's impossible to take it seriously for even the briefest of moments. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezNov 3, 2011
The best thing about this mildly diverting but instantly forgettable comedy is that it seems to have awakened something in Murphy that had laid dormant for much of the past two decades. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsNov 3, 2011
Back when it was planned as an African-American "Ocean's Eleven," this project might have been edgy, but the script has been whitewashed into a generic caper comedy with pretensions of timeliness. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeOct 31, 2011
During the heist itself, the suspense is palpable, if only because Christophe Beck's funky score blares its horns so insistently, one can't help but feel anxious. But the laughs don't follow. Read full review
40
Time OutDavid FearNov 2, 2011
A set piece involving a skyscraper and a sports car proves he can induce sweaty palms, but one nail-biting moment and some much-misssed Murphy mouthiness won't keep you from feeling like you're the one being ripped off. Read full review
40
The New YorkerAnthony LaneOct 31, 2011
Toss everything you can find, starting with roughly diced plots, into the blender, press "Pulse," and pray: such appears to be the method behind Tower Heist. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineR. Kurt OsenlundNov 1, 2011
Defiantly graceless, Brett Ratner deals in loudness, haplessness, obviousness, and, certainly, crudeness, reminding you of his directorial presence with such inclusions as a scolded kid who tells his disciplinarian to "suck it." Read full review
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