Texas Killing Fields 2011

Neil Genzlinger, New York Times: Takes its suspense for granted, which leaves it weak where it should be at its most chilling. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: The identity of the villain is beside the point; he-she-it might as well have a Looney Tunes-ish neon arrow emblazoned KILLER! pointing at their noggin. What matters more is the thick sense of atmosphere that Mann and her collaborators conjure. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: We get to know the detectives at the film's core, how they work, what drives them, and the place they're sworn to protect. And then the film ends after telling only one story, which seems kind of odd these days. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: The story simply doesn't stand up, with its combination of well-worn plot elements and confusing red herrings -- or maybe they're just details that don't add up. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: [A] southern-fried rehash of David Fincher's Seven. Read more

Lana Berkowitz, Houston Chronicle: The characters will be familiar to fans of police procedural shows and TV movies. Read more

Neil Young, Hollywood Reporter: Despite the presence of some notable names at the top of the cast including the currently ubiquitous Jessica Chastain, the steadily-paced drama looks more of a small-screen proposition. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: Like the Texas City killer's plans, something's gone terribly wrong. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: It's all just shorthand and cliches from other cop movies - the moral avenger, the workaholic loner. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The only notable element of this police procedural is that director Ami Canaan Mann, daughter of filmmaker Michael Mann ("Heat," "Collateral"), who produced here, appreciates dad's esthetic but can't replicate it. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Long on style and short on coherent storytelling... Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Scenes do not always necessarily follow one another. I was sometimes unclear who some of the characters were. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: As solid Saturday night entertainment goes, this is a consistently compelling, enjoyably old school potboiler. Read more

Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice: The plot is a chaos of underdeveloped relationships and frayed loose ends, but every so often, Mann does something so right that it makes this seem less a matter of narrative disorganization than a commentary on the anarchy intrinsic to any investigation. Read more