Critic Reviews
Burn After Reading (2008) Rank 4 Reviews
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based on (151) reviews
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Antagony & Ecstasy (Tim Brayton)
Easily the funniest film by Joel and Ethan Coen since The Big Lebowski...feels more like their old stuff than anything else they've done in a decade. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Antagony & Ecstasy (Tim Brayton)
NewsBlaze (Kam Williams)
Alternatively mirthful and macabre, while poking fun at both modern mating habits and the paranoia of espionage culture, this sophisticated social satire is a refreshingly-intelligent diversion designed with the more cerebral cineaste in mind. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at NewsBlaze (Kam Williams)
Tri-City Herald (Gary Wolcott)
Ethan and Joel Coen are masters of exaggeration. Their films define the term and are done with cunning and cleverness not possessed by mere mortal filmmakers. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Tri-City Herald (Gary Wolcott)
Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
The plot is grippingly complex and at the same time laughably ludicrous, and it has one of the best wrap-up lines ever filmed. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
Courier Mail (Australia) (Des Partridge)
The performances are altogether delightful. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Courier Mail (Australia) (Des Partridge)
Nolan's Pop Culture Review (Michael A. Smith)
Never at a loss in the art of storytelling, the Coens have crafted a script that would have made Billy Wilder proud. And to speak these lines they have assembled possibly their greatest ensemble cast. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Nolan's Pop Culture Review (Michael A. Smith)
Sydney Morning Herald (Sandra Hall)
The whole thing is a triumphant exercise in the art of silliness for its own sake. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Sydney Morning Herald (Sandra Hall)
Killer Movie Reviews (Andrea Chase)
A traditional Hitchcockian tale of intrigue and innocence, turned on its ear. And then inside out. And then twisted in ways that might make even the dark master himself shake his head in wonder. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Killer Movie Reviews (Andrea Chase)
Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Goofy fluff spy comedy that revolves around a missing CIA memoir. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)
In the end. "Burn After Reading" is a film that is essentially about nothing much at all but it goes about achieving that nothing in such audaciously funny ways that it turns out to be something after all. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at efilmcritic.com (Peter Sobczynski)
eFilmCritic.com (Rob Gonsalves)
A beautifully inhuman spy farce in which nobody amounts to anything more than their loopy desires. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Rob Gonsalves)
Mountain Xpress (Ken Hanke)
On the surface, Burn After Reading consists of several highly rated Hollywood stars (George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Brad Pitt) along with a couple notable character actors (J.K. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Mountain Xpress (Ken Hanke)
Film Threat ()
Click to read the article ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Film Threat ()
Cinematical (Kim Voynar)
... a fun ride down the roller coaster of the dark side of human nature as only the Coens can explore it. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Cinematical (Kim Voynar)
At the Movies (Australia) (David Stratton)
Made with the absolute assurance of filmmakers who know exactly what theyre doing. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at At the Movies (Australia) (David Stratton)
The Australian (David Stratton)
The great strength of the Coen brothers is their scripts, and Burn After Reading is not only one of their most skilfully plotted films, it's also one of their wittiest. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at The Australian (David Stratton)
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Philip Martin)
Burn After Reading looks like it was as much fun to make as it is to watch, probably because allthe actors seem particularly committed to making their sketchy characters feel real. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Philip Martin)
San Antonio Express-News (Larry Ratliff)
... the Marx Brothers couldn't outrace the Coen boys when it comes to zany comic shenanigans. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at San Antonio Express-News (Larry Ratliff)
Sin Magazine (Austin Kennedy)
If you are a Coens fan you should like it. It's not as funny as THE BIG LEBOWSKI, but there's enough memorable moments and lines in it that will make you want to see it again. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Sin Magazine (Austin Kennedy)
CHUD (Devin Faraci)
Burn After Reading is the new Coen Bros classic that you'll be quoting ad nauseum for the next decade. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at CHUD (Devin Faraci)
Spirituality and Practice (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
A clever black comedy that pokes fun at some of the obsessions of our frantic times including surveillance, cosmetic surgery, and physical fitness. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Spirituality and Practice (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat)
Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)
Those crazy Coen Brothers veer a hard left with a humorous and cautionary tale of lust and revenge. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)
WJFK-FM (CBS Radio) (Kevin McCarthy)
Another Coen Brother's classic. The point of Burn After Reading is that there is no point and that is the entire point. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at WJFK-FM (CBS Radio) (Kevin McCarthy)
Montreal Film Journal (Kevin N. Laforest)
The Coen brothers' funniest movie since The Big Lebowski. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Montreal Film Journal (Kevin N. Laforest)
Minneapolis Star Tribune (Colin Covert)
The movie is joyfully alive to idiocy, from buffoons walking the solemn marble corridors of power to dopes on the treadmill at the franchise gym down the street. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Minneapolis Star Tribune (Colin Covert)
Lessons of Darkness (Nick Schager)
Superficially, Burn After Reading â a spy spoof about a bunch of nitwits knee-deep in baffling espionage â couldnât have less in common with the Coen Brothersâ previous, Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Lessons of Darkness (Nick Schager)
Houston Chronicle (Amy Biancolli)
Burn After Reading is neither an instant classic like No Country for Old Men nor a psychedelic playground like The Big Lebowski. But it is a Coen brothers kick in the pants. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Houston Chronicle (Amy Biancolli)
BrianOrndorf.com (Brian Orndorf)
A back-stabbing, double-crossing, exhaustively absurd caper with pitch-black comedic enhancements, "Burn" is a beauty; a charged symphony of impulsive idiots left to their own devices. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at BrianOrndorf.com (Brian Orndorf)
Denver Post (Lisa Kennedy)
The ensemble is at once loose and pitch perfect. Hardly a one of them plays a wholly likable person, yet each reveals the despearate or stupid humanity of their characters. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Denver Post (Lisa Kennedy)
Christianity Today (Josh Hurst)
A deliriously funny and delightful comedy, another exceptional movie from a creative team that seems boundlessly skilled and imaginative no matter the genre. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Christianity Today (Josh Hurst)
Supercala.com (John Venable)
Worth viewing if only to see Clooney, McDormand, and Pitt all play what Malkovich's character refers to as a 'league of morons'. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Supercala.com (John Venable)
Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)
Burn After Reading is about people... very very stupid people doing very very stupid things, as performed by very very smart people being very very clever about it. In fact, itâs probably the smartest movie ever about stupidity. ...read the complete Burn After Reading movie review at Flick Filosopher (MaryAnn Johanson)
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User Reviews
User Review Summary
based on (4) reviews
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by blake on January 22, 2009 Ogden, Utah
This movie has almost no comedic elements to it. It makes attempts to be a black comedy, but it comes across as sad. The characters are too over the top and unrealistic. Not how a proper mockery and satire should be done. The movie has no real ending. It ...
by tiffany on January 21, 2009 Ogden, Utah
Had a horrible plot, lack of humor. With the exception of the over energized Brad Pitt. It was nothing like I had hoped. There were things in the movie that wouldn't be explained till half way through and by then you are trying to figure out the ...
by jonny on January 21, 2009 Ogden, Utah
With a all star cast this movies was not very entertaining ... A waste of time and DVD Rental money. ...
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