72
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenThe Killers redux packs one lasting, significant, retrospective jolt of perversity that far eclipses any possible artistic intentions on the part of its creators though: the sight of future American President Ronald Reagan playing a baddie in his last film role before entering politics.
- 83The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasThough Siegel's The Killers dispatches Hemingway after six unfaithful minutes, its roundabout treatment seems truest to his spirit.
- 80The New YorkerRichard BrodyThe New YorkerRichard BrodySiegel’s terse, seething, and stylish direction glows with the blank radiance of sheet metal in sunlight; the movie’s bright primary colors and glossy luxuries are imbued with menace, and its luminous delights convey a terrifyingly cold world view.
- The movie defines the violent, complex persona that would make Marvin a star, and he's cast alongside the irresistibly alluring Angie Dickinson.
- 80The New York TimesJ. HobermanThe New York TimesJ. HobermanDon Siegel’s remake was hardly so well received, although it is in many respects a more vivid, streamlined, callous film.
- 75Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrThe second film version (1964) of Ernest Hemingway's short story, directed by Don Siegel with far more energy than Robert Siodmak could muster for his overrated 1946 effort.
- 75TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineThough the film does not stand up to the 1946 version with Burt Lancaster, it has its own pleasures, including Marvin's rather likable role of an assassin, the exciting robbery sequence, and, of course, the villainous Reagan getting his just desserts.
- Donald Siegel, a talented director, is too handicapped by his limited means to do much with the fragments of plot about a fall guy involved with a mail robbery, a devious redhead and double-crosses following in predictable sequence. His actors seem dispirited by the script.