The American 2010

Jake Coyle, Associated Press: It's difficult not to want Corbijn's mournful seriousness to ease up a bit. But The American is nevertheless transfixing in its weary, muted grace. Read more

Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: The good news, though, is that eventually The American does get to where it wants to be, and becomes a rather improbably but genuinely moving story. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: The American is never less than gorgeous. And the oblique approach it takes to what is a fairly standard plot creates a mood of suspense quickened by the accelerated heartbeat of Herbert Gronemeyer's unobtrusive music. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Takes itself very seriously, even though the story is filled with the same Bond-acious vixens and prostitutes with hearts of gold as any cliched spy film. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: It takes you back to an era of arty, angst-ridden European existential pulp movies that were like abstract essays on the genre. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Mr. Clooney's performance as Jack -- a last name would have made him less existential -- keeps you attentive, and the drama's seriousness finally earns your respect. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Clooney ... shucks off his movie-star charm and lets us see something quite different: an unsmiling man with a set jaw, an unblinking stillness and an air of quiet mystery. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: The American's muted pleasures rest heavily on the sustained air of mystery around Clooney, and Corbijn, a pristine stylist, keeps the atmosphere nice and thick. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: With Clooney it's an interesting project. Without him, it would simply be boring. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: Given the paucity of serious adult moviemaking that shows up in American megaplexes, it's almost ungrateful to turn up your nose when one arrives. But this isn't that serious a movie. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: George Clooney produced and stars in this international spy thriller, which he probably thought of as existential but which registers onscreen as a giant bore. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: I enjoyed the film for its surfaces most of the way. Its pictorial assurance is undeniable. So is its destiny as an audience-divider. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: At some point in their careers, most male actors want to play (a) Hamlet, and (b) a hit man. I hope that Clooney has gotten "b" out of his system. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: This is Serious Clooney, starring in a deliberative film that could have sprung from mid-'60s France or Italy. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: If you're expecting a star-propelled thriller with the usual bob, weave and one-two punch, this isn't your ticket. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: The American ends the summer not with a bang but an existential whimper. Read more

Laremy Legel, Film.com: A film that speaks so softly it ends up saying nothing at all. Read more

Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: What did George Clooney see in this script? Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: 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. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Corbijn makes the familiar strange, focusing on details other filmmakers would gloss over. Read more

Caryn James, Newsweek: Even on its own artsy terms, the film falls apart long before the end. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: [It] has a cold, compelling focus. And -- like its hero -- when it does finally pull the trigger, it soundly hits the bull's eye. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The American, a movie as coiled as a snake and as still as a sleepy villa, is the rare grownup thriller that knows the link between peace and danger and the tension that comes from both. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: A pretentious Euro-snore that should occasion a fraud prosecution for any marketer who calls it a thriller -- and which stars an actor who seems to wish his name were Jorg Cloone. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Crisp, compact and cryptic, The American is a standard-issue hit-man thriller tailor made for George Clooney. Read more

Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: The film from Dutch director Anton Corbijn is as meticulous, enigmatic, and restrained as its protagonist. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Anyone who understands what The American offers should come away pleased with the final product. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: 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 more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Still, The American is remote to a fault. Like Jack (George Clooney), it seems in danger of turning to stone. Read more

Sam Adams, Salon.com: What redeems the movie, and then some, is the soulful weariness of Clooney's performance. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: It does for hit men what Up in the Air did for frequent-flying corporate terminators, minus the comic tang. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: If you're willing to let go of your Hollywood-bred expectations for a movie of this type, The American is a great pleasure to watch, an astringent antidote to the loud, frantic action movies that have been clogging our veins all summer. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The American strains so hard to be European -- a slower, more intellectual cloak-and-dagger melodrama -- that it winds up feeling Canadian: more bloodless and chilly than thrilling. Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Clooney turns in an intense performance that owes little to his usual roguish charm. Read more

Christopher Orr, The Atlantic: Early on, the priest explains to Jack, 'You have the hands of a craftsman, not an artist.' The American is the product of such hands as well: lovely in execution, if somewhat wanting in inspiration. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: The dread in the film is so quickly forgotten. What remains is an urge to fly to Italy, rent an apartment in a medieval city and invent your own adventure. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: The film's many pleasures are in its slow reveals, the dangerously enchanting scenery being among them. There is much of Roman Polanski's cold eye for beauty in Corbijn's work. Read more

Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine: Surely the dreariest thriller of the year. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: At its best, the film's silence and unrevealing mood of observation remind you of 'The Passenger' or Paulo Sorrentino's 'Consequences of Love'... Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Clooney plays the enigmatic title character with mature confidence. Read more

Robert Koehler, Variety: Clooney may not have a hit this time, but he continues to apply considerable intelligence to his work as an actor, still trying to deliver something fresh and interesting for his fans. Read more

Mark Olsen, Village Voice: Despite its director's disinterest in letting people in, there is nevertheless something exciting about a movie this uncompromised, in which the big change from the book to the screen actually toughens up the story instead of watering it down. Read more