Certainly, it's mediocre, but no more so than half the comedies that are wildly promoted by their studios these days.

Washington's fire and righteous anger can only do so much, and the token grit amounts to a few grains of sand in the sentimental machinery.

Yet for all the debauchery, there's a juvenile candor in its knowing embrace of teen sex comedy cliches, as if the entire film is just one of Scott's fantasies. You half expect him to jolt awake at the end, and why not? The film fades just like a half-remembered dream.

Sure-handed actionmeister Donner keeps the pacing breathless, and gives his actors plenty of room to do their thing. [15 May 1992]

Not as funny as the original, not nearly as funny.

The most interesting moments in the film are the videotapes sent back and forth between the parents and students, as they communicate the sadness of children separated from their distant families.

Such an air of dumbness hovers over the movie, and it's all played so broadly that nothing about it is remotely believable.

The script is soggy and sloppy and Waters is no master of suspense, but he does have a pair of engaging stars flirting in a world of chic New York glamour.

Nothing at all special. It's one more cheesy, broadly played, poorly paced, instantly forgettable August action movie.

A diversion so soggy that even the few combustible comic disasters fail to light a flame under the lukewarm laughs.

The film works up to a totally conventional ending: It's never much of a comedy or an exploration of the phone-sex phenomenon, and it often seems to be just an excuse for Madonna, John Turturro, Quentin Tarantino and other Lee pals to make cameo appearances and mug for the camera. [22 Mar 1996, p.24]

For all the color and lively music, it's an overlong, messy labor of love built on a sense of personal betrayal that rings hollow.

There is action galore (the deaths, by my rough count, may run somewhere in the triple digits). It's very cartoonish and not upsettingly explicit. But it's all so predictable and pointless that it quickly becomes monotonous, lulling the viewer into numbness, apathy, and perhaps even a peaceful sleep. [20 Sep 1996]

For film buffs who want to see what's hot in Germany, Bandits is probably worth the price of a ticket. Those looking for action, drama, or rock 'n' roll may find the mix less than satisfying.

If Irwin is your bag, then this is your film. Otherwise, Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course is dumb, mate. Real dumb.

A new millennium version of "A Hard Day's Night" without any wit to balance the silliness.

It has its charms, but fails to strike a similar emotional chord.

Even though the supporting cast is likable and the film hits all the beats of its formula, it's weak, as if everyone has been to the well one too many times.

The script is fatally stupid, most of the gags fall flat, the secondary characters add little, Hudson fails to make anything interesting out of the exasperated heroine, and the endless references to McConaughey's sexual prowess finally become revolting.

The movie is all action. But there's no pacing, no suspense and no vulnerability for the protagonist so it all soon gets numbingly tiresome.

If "Splash" was a movie for grownups and "The Little Mermaid" was a film for kids, it's safe to say that the latest flick to feature a mermaid is aimed directly at those who are neither adults nor children, but rather lost somewhere in that awkward middle zone in between.

Fairly good- natured and not as awful as it sounds, but it lacks distinction.

Utter lack of irony and curiosity.

Fun-enough teenage adventure suitable for the whole family.

This is a familiar journey and director/co-writer Todd Phillips sidesteps every opportunity to inject a little edge or originality into it.

Harmless and thoroughly unmemorable: colorful, cute, fast paced, and about as involving as an amusement park ride.

Failing to make a lick of rational sense, Silk grasps at poetic straws.

The finished film, while competently acted and staged, has missed the high mark Spacey set for it. It's self-important, tedious and ultimately pointless, with absolutely none of the sardonic wit that remains the most memorable feature of "American Beauty."