38
Metascore
35 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyA somber, absorbing thriller that treads familiar psycho serial killer terrain with style. Elegantly made and comparatively restrained in cramming sick and grisly stuff down the audience's throat.
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliThe movie voids a lot of good will with a cheesy ending. This is just the kind of denouement I was hoping Taking Lives wouldn't sink to, yet it does.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttClearly, much care and intelligence have been lavished on discouraging, routine material.
- 60The New York TimesDana StevensThe New York TimesDana StevensFrom a technical standpoint, Taking Lives is competent and sometimes even impressive. It is cleanly edited and nicely shot -- at times as cool and rich as a York Peppermint Pattie. Beyond that, there is not much to say.
- 50Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanAfter ''Seven'' and three ''Hannibal'' hits, the audience tolerance for baroque serial-killer flourishes has been duly amped. We require sustained creativity in our sick violence, and Taking Lives, after a token bit of ghastly foreplay, loses its life.
- 50Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanCharlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanBy the pseudo-shocking end, we're half-entertained by the dedicated cast and half-lulled to sleep by the dull, overfamiliar sounds they make.
- 50Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaPhiladelphia InquirerSteven ReaIf Taking Lives starts off with a modicum of wit and creepy-crawly scares, it winds up somewhere else altogether: in the cliche-strewn land of preposterous red herrings.
- 40The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsSadly, Taking Lives, adapted from a novel by Michael Pye, proves to be one long wallow in elements that have long since had their effectiveness dulled flat.
- 38Miami HeraldRene RodriguezMiami HeraldRene RodriguezEven though Taking Lives is not very good, it does contain a) a cool car chase and b) a sex scene in which Jolie goes topless. For some, this will be enough entertainment.
- 30Village VoiceVillage VoiceIf the Naqoyqatsi-lite score by Philip Glass doesn't exactly make sense of the film's sketchy identity politics, it does complement its utter ridiculousness.