Critic Reviews
Good German, The (2006) Rank 3 Reviews
Expert Review Summary
based on (149) reviews
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
Reviews by Score:
The Onion (A.V. Club) (Scott Tobias)
With a few self-conscious exceptions, Soderbergh makes an earnest attempt to return to that place and time in both history and American filmmaking, and his risk-taking pays fascinating dividends. ...read the complete Good German movie review at The Onion (A.V. Club) (Scott Tobias)
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Philip Martin)
While the title raises the question of whether it is possible to escape atrocity without somehow being complicit with those committing them ... Soderbergh seems infinitely more interested in making an anachronism than a timeless film. ...read the complete Good German movie review at Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Philip Martin)
The Hollywood Reporter (Kirk Honeycutt)
Blanchett gets everything right -- the accent, her German dialogue, the weary sexuality (deliberately reminiscent of Marlene Dietrich) and the amorality her character has embraced. ...read the complete Good German movie review at The Hollywood Reporter (Kirk Honeycutt)
filmcritic.com (Chris Barsanti)
Noirs this good don't come along every day, or even every year. ...read the complete Good German movie review at filmcritic.com (Chris Barsanti)
Las Vegas Weekly (Josh Bell)
A rewarding exercise in formalism. ...read the complete Good German movie review at Las Vegas Weekly (Josh Bell)
iF Magazine (Abbie Bernstein)
All of this makes for a movie that's sort of fun, but so intent on showing off its period flourishes that it lacks soul. ...read the complete Good German movie review at iF Magazine (Abbie Bernstein)
Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)
50's stylishness through every bombed out alleyway, military office and underground hiding place. Blanchett is deliciously femme fatale, down to her black market stockings. ...read the complete Good German movie review at Cinema Signals (Jules Brenner)
Film Threat, Hollywood's Indie Voice
Chicago Sun-Times (Richard Roeper)
The photography is so beautiful, and the actors make brave choices, and Soderbergh's homage to the films he so obviously loves is done with such grace and passion -- so there's just enough that works to outweigh the major plot concerns. ...read the complete Good German movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Richard Roeper)
Movie Picture Film (Scott Hoffman)
Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)
Still-relevant political observation...[and] a nifty mystery that's a bit too self-conscious for its own good. ...read the complete Good German movie review at Groucho Reviews (Peter Canavese)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)
Soderbergh wants us to see post-War Berlin as, in its way, another Chinatown a la Roman Polanski. ...read the complete Good German movie review at Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Eleanor Ringel Gillespie)
Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (Josh Larsen)
...a fascinating exercise for cineastes, but it doesn't have a leg of its own to stand on. ...read the complete Good German movie review at Sun Publications (Chicago, IL) (Josh Larsen)
Newsday (Jan Stuart)
The Good German is Steven Soderbergh's game attempt to reinvigorate the dense intrigue of classic wartime thrillers like The Third Man with a contemporary, neo-noir edge. ...read the complete Good German movie review at Newsday (Jan Stuart)
Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
This is Soderbergh's show, and a haunting and hypnotic show it is. ...read the complete Good German movie review at Rolling Stone (Peter Travers)
Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)
It's "The Good German," but not "The Great German." ...read the complete Good German movie review at Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)
Three Movie Buffs (Scott Nash)
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (John Beifuss)
A cold movie that sacrifices so-called 'heart' to achieve a primarily technical effect -- an appropriate strategy for a story about death camp inmates enslaved to produce rockets for the Nazis. ...read the complete Good German movie review at Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (John Beifuss)
Entertainment Weekly (Lisa Schwarzbaum)
The leisure-time viewer will say, ''Hey, this is sort of like "Casablanca," so why play it ...read the complete Good German movie review at Entertainment Weekly (Lisa Schwarzbaum)
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
New York Post (Lou Lumenick)
While Clooney and especially Blanchett give solid performances, and McGuire plays effectively against type, the movie is best appreciated as an exercise in vintage Hollywood style. ...read the complete Good German movie review at New York Post (Lou Lumenick)
Big Picture Big Sound (Joe Lozito)
Window to the Movies (Jeffrey Chen)
Cinema Signals by The Filmiliar Cineaste
One Guy's Opinion (Frank Swietek)
In Film Australia
LA Weekly (Ella Taylor)
Sumptuous, clever and cold. ...read the complete Good German movie review at LA Weekly (Ella Taylor)
OhmyNews.com (Brian Orndorf)
Soderbergh has been having a helluva time matching his ambition with quality lately ...read the complete Good German movie review at OhmyNews.com (Brian Orndorf)
Filmjerk.com (Brian Orndorf)
ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
The Good German, Steven Soderbergh's film noir homage, is nearly perfect when it comes to style and tone, but it concentrates so single-mindedly on the mechanics of the narrative that it loses sight of its characters. ...read the complete Good German movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)
Here's what's good about The Good German: The look is fantastic; technically, the movie is a retro marvel. Here's what's bad: The script sucks; it keeps promising to be clever, engaging, subtle and completely fails to deliver. ...read the complete Good German movie review at The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)
TV Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
But for all the profane language and sexual frankness, Soderbergh's film is no more cynical or world-weary than its inspirations, and in the end, it feels like a clever trick wrapped around a hollow center. ...read the complete Good German movie review at TV Guide (Maitland McDonagh)
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Ed Blank)
Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)
The lot of it is pseudonoir. ...read the complete Good German movie review at Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)
Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)
Philadelphia Inquirer (Gary Thompson)
The Good German doesn't look like a period movie, and it doesn't feel like one. The black-and-white images are thin and garish, with blinding whites that destroy whatever Soderbergh is trying to do with shadow and contrast. ...read the complete Good German movie review at Philadelphia Inquirer (Gary Thompson)
L.A. Daily News
Lobo Howls (Judith Wolfe)
Detroit News (Tom Long)
A history-based, murder-mystery war-yarn that goes round and round in circles. ...read the complete Good German movie review at Detroit News (Tom Long)
Flipside Movie Emporium (Rob Vaux)
Greenwich Village Gazette (Eric Lurio)
EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
Yet another failed attempt at noir from Soderbergh (after Kafka and Underneath), a pastiche made of old movie parts that don't fit, trying to bring back the style, glory and pleasure of old studio fare like Casablanca, The Third Man, and Foreign Affair ...read the complete Good German movie review at EmanuelLevy.com (Emanuel Levy)
User Reviews
User Comments
del.icio.us
Digg
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! My Web
Facebook
Google Bookmarks
ma.gnolia
Newsvine
reddit
Windows Live
