The Hard Word 2002

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: It's fun as far as it goes, but that isn't very far. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: [T]here's a real art to moving characters around in a caper film like this and in this film, I felt like I could see the hand of the director moving those pieces about ... Read more

Mark Caro, Chicago Tribune: The Hard Word never steals our hearts, though it does kill time. Read more

Elvis Mitchell, New York Times: The picture has a spiky, efficient hilarity, and the director uses his actors well. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: The Hard Word strains to be light on its feet but piles too much on its plate: characters come and go, changing personality at the director's whim, and you're never quite sure who's getting the shaft. Read more

Houston Chronicle: Read more

Michael Booth, Denver Post: The movie-jaded will dismiss The Hard Word as just another slick heist flick with a band of burglar buddies. Too bad for their cynical souls. They'll be missing a grand (theft) time. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: An Australian crime caper that's one part Sexy Beast, one part The Full Monty, and three parts very flat soda. Read more

Tom Maurstad, Dallas Morning News: Just when you think you've got it all figured out, there's another disorienting jolt. Read more

Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly: A compendium of caper cliches and stylistic Tarantino-isms in which neither the getting nor the getting away is particularly gripping. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: It takes a clumsy turn into comic-book violence a la Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Few opportunities are seized. Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: The gore is intended as Tarantino-style black comedy, but instead, it's just weirdly grotesque. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: The entire cast perform ably, but Mr. Pearce and Ms. Griffiths ... are something special in their native habitat. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: It's the kind of predictable programmer that used to fill the bottom half of double bills, but it's worth the effort to catch Ms. Griffiths. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: This movie could obviously go on fooling us forever, but we are good sports only up to a point, and then our attention drifts. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Nothing new or earthshaking here, but The Hard Word is tense and compelling, with the added charm of a mischievous spirit. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: 'Amiable' is an odd way to describe a crime drama that contains wall-spattering amounts of bloodshed, but it fits The Hard Word. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Derek Adams, Time Out: Read more

David Ng, Village Voice: Convoluted yet simple-minded, the movie frequently equates verbosity with wit, exhausting itself long before the racetrack robbery climax. Read more