More a dark fairy tale about vengeance than the action-packed crime thriller it purports to be, the film is at times exhilarating, bold, and beautiful -- when it's not busy being ludicrous, fragmented, and just plain stupid.
– Bilge Ebiri,
New York Magazine/Vulture,
8 Mar 2013
rotten:
While a mob thriller can be as nasty as it likes, what it can't be is silly.
– Kyle Smith,
New York Post,
8 Mar 2013
rotten:
Explores a common ground for noir thrillers before stumbling and imploding in a climax that feels like it might have been hijacked from an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie.
– James Berardinelli,
ReelViews,
10 Mar 2013
rotten:
A way-too-leisurely thriller whose destination is fairly obvious from early on, but to which the talented cast apply themselves with effortful seriousness.
– Trevor Johnston,
Time Out,
30 Apr 2013
rotten:
Suppose Armand Assante had played the mother, not as a father, as a mother. Suppose Isabelle Huppert had taken the Colin Farrell part. This may be no more than playful, but heaven knows Dead Man Down needs as much of that as it can get.