Metacritic Movie Ratings
The American Reviews

A sample of reviews from critics across the country.

• 100

  out of 100

  Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert

  Here is a gripping film with the focus of a Japanese drama, an impenetrable character to equal Alain Delon's in "Le Samourai," by Jean-Pierre Melville.

  Read full review

• 75

  out of 100

  USA TodayClaudia Puig

  Clooney has excelled in serious roles - notably in "Michael Clayton" and "Syriana." But his Jack, a brooding assassin seeking redemption, is a bigger departure, and he pulls it off well.

  Read full review

• 70

  out of 100

  Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan

  While many of its elements whet our appetite and make the film well worth seeing, The American doesn't manage to deliver a fully satisfying meal. It's against the film's religion to have us believe too deeply in its characters, and that agnosticism, combined with the plot's sense of predestination, put a noticeable crimp in its grand ambitions.

  Read full review

• 70

  out of 100

  Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern

  With its retro pacing, its pretentious lapses and its narrow emotional range, this elegantly crafted existential thriller risks alienating its audience; at times it feels like a test for attention deficit disorder.

  Read full review

• 63

  out of 100

  Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips

  The movie is a paradox. It's ostentatiously restrained. You cannot say Corbijn lacks rigor. You can, however, say that when a talented director's approach too precisely mirrors the tightly calibrated performance strategy of his leading player, a movie risks stalling out completely.

  Read full review

• 60

  out of 100

  The New York TimesA.O. Scott

  It is a reasonably skillful exercise in genre and style, a well-made vessel containing nothing in particular, though some of its features - European setting, slow pacing, full-frontal female nudity - are more evocative of the art house than of the multiplex.

  Read full review

• 50

  out of 100

  Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman

  The role requires Clooney to dial down his charm to nearly zero, and frankly, he looks twitchy and uncomfortable without it.

  Read full review

• 50

  out of 100

  The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt

  Nothing really adds up, and the ending is downright absurd. You would like even the most austere, doctrinaire existential movie to earn its downbeat ending. This one fails utterly to do so.

  Read full review

See all The American movie reviews at Metacritic.com