Swordfish 2001

Critics score:
26 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Ebert & Roeper: Read more

Susan Stark, Detroit News: Read more

Tom Maurstad, Dallas Morning News: Has a great opening, an exciting finale and in between it rarely bores and often entertains. Read more

Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News: It's the adrenaline rush of the year. Read more

Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star: The kind of movie where glass-smashing in slow motion serves the same function as extended guitar solos did in '70s rock concerts. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: A meticulously choreographed bang-by-the-numbers action fantasy that I would accuse of peddling evil if the film weren't so dumb and incoherent. Read more

Dave McCoy, Seattle Times: Sena doesn't back up his bravado and, indeed, his film is rather flushable. Read more

David Edelstein, Slate: My inner jock left hungry for some good final jolts. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Meaningless and superfluous car chases, meaningless and superfluous shoot-outs, and, most of all, meaningless and superfluous sex stuff. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Whatever interest the film creates is squandered via the smug, showy amorality that runs through it. Read more

Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle: Truthfully, it's all twaddle. Read more

Paul Clinton (CNN.com), CNN.com: Don't look too closely. If you do, it becomes not just mindless, but ludicrous, preposterous and downright stupid. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: A good movie? Hardly. But more than enough to pass a dog day afternoon. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Begins by directing our attention to a potentially good film in full view -- then some damn Hollywood magician makes it disappear. Read more

Gene Seymour, Newsday: By the seventh explosion, you can't help wondering whether all this flashy stuff amounts to more of a smokescreen shielding a lack of spine or soul. Read more

David Ansen, Newsweek: Read more

Peter Rainer, New York Magazine/Vulture: Another in a long line of middling movies for Travolta. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Swordfish at least remembers that this sort of film is supposed to be fun. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: It's skillfully mounted and fitfully intriguing. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: Feels like every other action thriller we've seen in the past three years, only it's more annoying. Read more

Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle: All this excess, leading to nothing much. Read more

Geoff Andrew, Time Out: Read more

Mike Clark, USA Today: Swordfish may run just 99 minutes, but that's enough time to keep mulling how silly it is. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: The story ... is just what fills in the gaps between slow-motion fireballs, Matrix-style frozen mayhem, and Halle Berry's notoriously undraped breasts. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: An action opera designed to elicit Beavis and Butt-head-level appreciation. Read more

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: Nobody really cares about the plot, least of all the filmmakers. Read more