40
Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Time OutTime OutMaking excellent use of Nolte's controlled toughness and Short's hysterical freneticism, Weber plays the comic action hard and fast, grounding the humour in believable reality that has spiralled out of control.
- 70Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyDespite its herky-jerky pace and aimlessness of plot, Three Fugitives is engaging sport, primarily enjoyable for the hearty teamwork of Nolte and Short -- a comedic contretemps as bruising as a Punch and Judy show.
- 60EmpireWilliam ThomasEmpireWilliam ThomasGiven such a cloying and utterly predictable plot, it's surprising that Three Fugitives works as well as it does. Nolte, all big shoulders and bashfulness shows a pleasant self-deprecating talent and copes very well with the array of humiliations ranged against him.
- 50The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinThis comedy has the earmarks of humor and even a few genuine laughs, but it also has a prefabricated, automatic-pilot feeling.
- 50Boston GlobeJay CarrBoston GlobeJay CarrThree Fugitives isn't the total disaster that such remakes as "The Woman in Red" and "The Tall Blond Man with One Red Shoe" have been. It has moments, mostly having to do with physical comedy, of which Veber is a master. Mostly, though, you keep closing your eyes and wishing that when you open them, Nolte and Short will be gone, and Gerard Depardieu and Pierre Richard will appear in their place, as they deserve to. [27 Jan 1989, p.72]
- 40TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineThis obvious attempt to tap into the same audience that flocked to THREE MEN AND A BABY (indeed, it could have been titled "Two Men and a Toddler") is about as lifeless as they come. Not only is THREE FUGITIVES a scene-for-scene remake of Veber's French original, it is actually shot for shot the same film. Not surprisingly, the resulting film feels mechanical, despite engaging performances from Short and Nolte.
- 40Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasNick Nolte and Martin Short make a frequently hilarious odd couple, but the film itself is shamelessly sentimental and often slapdash.
- 40Orlando SentinelJay BoyarOrlando SentinelJay BoyarIt would be wrong to blame Martin Short alone for the failure of Three Fugitives. Francis Veber, the French filmmaker who wrote and directed the film, must accept much of the responsibility.
- 30Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonFrancis Veber's Three Fugitives, a heist caper, starts off with comic promise then limps all the way from the bank.