53
Metascore
21 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinIf the film doesn't add up to a cogent legal argument, neither does it have trouble delivering 2 hours and 20 minutes' worth of sturdy, highly charged drama.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertA Time to Kill, based on the first novel by John Grisham, is a skillfully constructed morality play that pushes all the right buttons and arrives at all the right conclusions.
- 75ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliThen again, it's worth noting that this Hollywood production is actually saying something, rather than just churning out eye-popping special effects while relying on a regurgitated plot.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannSan Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannJoel Schumacher, the director of "Falling Down," "The Client" and "Batman Forever," has a strong feel for this kind of glossy pop entertainment and a way of integrating social issues without sacrificing narrative drive.
- 67Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenTo its credit, A Time to Kill allows the debate to snake through the entire movie, engagingly pitting characters and speeches against each other, creating a dramatic forum for ethical debate uncommon in most commercial American films.
- 50Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversAudiences expecting more Bullock or more weighty import from A Time to Kill will have to adjust expectations and settle for the kick of a good yarn.
- 50San Francisco ExaminerBarbara ShulgasserSan Francisco ExaminerBarbara ShulgasserDirector Joel Schumacher and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman seem incapable of emphasizing what's important and relegating the rest to secondary status.
- 30Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonThere's no question the movie's entertaining. But the blatantly schematic depictions of black and white, liberal and hawk, and other tiresome dichotomies turn A Time to Kill into the moral equivalent of a cockfight.
- 20Washington PostHal HinsonWashington PostHal HinsonIn his screen version, Schumacher does a flamboyant job of staging the book without showing the slightest interest in what it's about. Granted, Grisham's original is no masterpiece; it's beach reading, but it deserves credit for addressing its subject with some conviction and integrity.
- 10Chicago ReaderChicago ReaderLike many artists today, Grisham and Schumacher exploit racial tension without understanding it.