Deadfall 2012

Critics score:
32 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: [It has] enough plot contrivances and twisted, twinned destinies for any old movie, though not necessarily a good one. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: Despite a super-dark noir plot and respectable cast, "Deadfall" is a thriller that never quite delivers on its promise. Read more

Kathleen Murphy, MSN Movies: 'Deadfall' deftly transforms the climactic moments ... therapeutic for some, devastating for others. It's a beautiful thing. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: "Deadfall" brings to mind those dark, old-fashioned entertainments in rotation on Turner Classic Movies that suck you in with their genre machinery, sullen beauties and despair. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: The camera work is as beautiful as it is terrifying, with Quebec standing in for northern Michigan in the dead of winter. And the performances are resourceful, superbly etched and expertly nuanced. Read more

Soren Anderson, Seattle Times: It's sort of like "Fargo," only with a higher body count and without the wood chipper. Read more

Noel Murray, AV Club: Bana and Wilde sport bad Southern accents and deliver overly mannered dialogue while dropping hints about their abusive childhood. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: An A-list cast fights a B-movie script and goes down hard in "Deadfall," a wintry suspense melodrama that's not quite awful enough to be any fun. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: There isn't much to the characters in this morose thriller. Read more

Laremy Legel, Film.com: A complete nightmare of a movie. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: Deadfall is slicker and more compelling than its overdetermined script has any right to expect. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: At times it is riveting stuff and at times ridiculous. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: This is the sort of movie best encountered accidentally and for free, caught on basic cable late at night. Read more

Mark Jenkins, NPR: For Ruzowitzky, Deadfall seems nothing more than work for hire. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Watching this violent potboiler is like observing a thief knock off a convenience store, then seeing him lock his keys in the car. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: There's nothing you haven't seen before - and better - in "Deadfall," which would seem to appeal mostly to fans of snowmobile chases. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Deadfall is fast and fatalistic ... Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The most disappointing aspect of Deadfall is its conventionality. For a thriller, it's light on surprises. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: [An] atmospheric, suspenseful, snowbound crime thriller with a creepy, sexy undertow ... Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Perhaps the best thing about "Deadfall" is the lifelike messiness of its ending. A couple of the characters have a lot of explaining to do, and this is one case where a sequel might be in order. Read more

Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail: Dean and Ruzowitzky want both inexorably tightening plot and keen psychology here, and they can't always have it both ways. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: Looks great but sacrifices much in its charge towards a final showdown that's been telegraphed from the early going. Read more

Nigel Floyd, Time Out: Like all over-ambitious B-movies, this features solid performances by a mix of seasoned talent and promising young actors, all of whom deserve better. Read more

Sam Adams, Time Out: Ruzowitzky may be an occasionally interesting visual stylist, but storytelling-wise, his second English-language effort couldn't be more stillborn. Read more

Rob Nelson, Variety: A highly satisfying Western-cum-noir in the old tradition. Read more

Simon Abrams, Village Voice: Deadfall just isn't manic enough to be memorable. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: A genre characterized by often grisly violence, high style and a distinctly nihilistic outlook. Read more