61
Metascore
33 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Village VoiceVillage VoiceIf Binder has a considerably heavier hand when it comes to metaphor, his movie nevertheless remains buoyant because the feelings in it are immutable, and because Sandler has never before held the screen with greater intensity.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterIt doesn't exploit our emotions about Sept. 11; it simply tells a story that exists because of what happened that day -- one that should resonate with a wide, appreciative audience.
- 80VarietyJoe LeydonVarietyJoe LeydonSandler (never making a false step while maneuvering though vertiginous mood swings) and Cheadle (deftly commingling instinctive decency with quiet desperation) are individually excellent, and bring out the best in each other. And the picture itself transcends its real but relatively minor flaws to score a satisfyingly potent impact.
- 75PremiereGlenn KennyPremiereGlenn KennyA thoughtful, involving and sometimes moving film that almost (and I do mean almost) justifies its use of 9/11 as a dramatic device.
- 75Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonReign works better much better than "Upside" because of the cast and because Sandler and Cheadle together keep it lighter. It's an easy film to watch, but less easy to be moved by.
- 70The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LaneThat is an unusually gloomy proposition not just for a studio movie but for a society that, despite the acts and sites of official commemoration, must find good cause to forge ahead from catastrophe. Reign Over Me closes with, at best, a cautious hope, leaving us more anxious than when we went in, and throughout the film there is a stunned and bewildered air hanging over the city, like a heavy smog.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumA strange, black-and-blue therapeutic drama equally mottled with likable good intentions and agitating clumsiness.
- 67Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenCheadle takes what could have been a role as a mere foil and creates a rich portrait of a vaguely discontented married man. Yet the drama sputters once it reaches a contrived and melodramatic climax that feels undernourished and artificial – both less than and more than one had hoped for.
- 50ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliIt's tough to make a good tearjerker - one need look no further than this misfire to understand why.
- 38Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversVeering between sentimentality and exploitation with a few misguided stops at raunchy sex farce, Reign Over Me never finds a tone to suit its purpose.