Critic Reviews

Out of Sight (1998) Rank 5 Reviews

Expert Review Summary

Movie critics combined give Out of Sight (1998) a score of 3.3402 out of 4

based on (42) reviews

Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating

Excellent

(24)

Very Good

(14)

Good

(3)

Fair

(1)

Poor

(0)

Reviews by Score:

Washington Post (Stephen Hunter)

In some ways Soderbergh does a much better job than Tarantino. He handles the time shifts more adroitly, always keeping us on track; he goes easy on the violence, and when he does unleash it, it's short, fast and ugly. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Washington Post (Stephen Hunter)

Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)

Engaging and consummately entertaining. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Los Angeles Times (Kenneth Turan)

The New York Times (Janet Maslin)

The film's sleek moodiness and visual sophistication are so effective that there's even a scene here that makes Detroit look like the most romantic city in the world. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at The New York Times (Janet Maslin)

Variety (Emanuel Levy)

Reveals Soderbergh in peak form, as he endows Leonard's postmodern yarn with a meticulously detailed mise en scene that helps each member of his terrific ensemble soar. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Variety (Emanuel Levy)

LA Weekly (Manohla Dargis)

This isn't a profound film, or even an important one, but then it isn't trying to be. It's so diverting and so full of small satisfying pleasures, you don't realize how good it is until it's over. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at LA Weekly (Manohla Dargis)

New Times (L.A.) (Michael Sgragow)

The audience responds to Out of Sight the way Jack and Karen do to each other. Instantly we like the way it looks, moves, and sounds. Ultimately we like how it makes us feel. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at New Times (L.A.) (Michael Sgragow)

Newsweek (David Ansen)

Lucky for us there are no ordinary circumstances in this smart, tasty adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel and it gets quirkier, funnier and sexier as it goes. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Newsweek (David Ansen)

Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)

This one came out of left field and knocked my socks off. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Palo Alto Weekly (Jeanne Aufmuth)

San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)

[Soderbergh] plays with time and narrative to reveal character, mood and longing in ways you just don't find in a mainstream crime picture. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at San Francisco Chronicle (Mick LaSalle)

Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)

Another of those stunningly well-written movies based on books by the very productive Elmore Leonard. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Laramie Movie Scope (Robert Roten)

Netflix (James Rocchi)

Sexy, funny crime-thriller has it all. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Netflix (James Rocchi)

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Philip Martin)

Soderbergh and his longtime cinematographer Elliot Davis have given us an action film that looks as sleek and moody as Krzysztof Kieslowski's Red. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Philip Martin)

Man Who Viewed Too Much (Mike D'Angelo)

This pleasantly artful cop'n'robber saga is a much-needed reminder of what big-budget American movies are supposed to be. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Man Who Viewed Too Much (Mike D'Angelo)

Man Who Viewed Too Much (Mike D'Angelo)

The Onion (A.V. Club) (Keith Phipps)

Works both as a great romance and a great, unconventional crime thriller. But step back from such distinctions, and it just looks like a great movie. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at The Onion (A.V. Club) (Keith Phipps)

Slate (David Edelstein)

Soderbergh contrives the perfect voice for Leonard's prose--laid-back and grooving when it needs to be, but also taut, with the eerie foreboding of violence about to erupt. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Slate (David Edelstein)

Washington Post (Michael O'Sullivan)

Jack is just one of a dozen enormously appealing personalities in Out of Sight. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Washington Post (Michael O'Sullivan)

Time (Richard Schickel)

What makes this movie work is the kind of cool that made Get Shorty go so nicely: an understanding that life's little adventures rarely come in neat three-act packages, the way most movies now do, and the unruffled presentation of outrageously twisted ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Time (Richard Schickel)

Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

The first film to build on the enormously influential "Pulp Fiction" instead of simply mimicking it. It has the games with time, the low-life dialogue, the absurd violent situations, but it also has its own texture. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

Everything in Out of Sight is smart -- the dialogue, the characters, and the storyline. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)

Undoubtedly, [the lead actors] both benefit hugely from the sharpness of Leonard's stock-in-trade dialogue: Put smart words in any actor's yap, and their performance will rise accordingly. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (Rick Groen)

Nick's Flick Picks (Nick Davis)

A pleasurable and genial jewel-heist tale that itself is just shy of being a real gem. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Nick's Flick Picks (Nick Davis)

Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

Steven Soderbergh's "Out of Sight" is a crime movie less interested in crime than in how people talk, flirt, lie and get themselves into trouble. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)

ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

In the middle of the summer movie season, when most films are designed with the intelligence of a seven year-old for viewers with the attention span of someone even younger, it's refreshing to find a picture like Out of Sight, which is not only smart, but ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at ReelViews (James Berardinelli)

Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)

Lopez, for all her Latina-siren voluptuousness, has always projected a contained coolness, and this is the first movie in which it fully works for her. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Entertainment Weekly (Owen Gleiberman)

filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)

Soderbergh knows how to take the everyday crime thriller and make it sing. Jennifer Lopez, in her best role to date as a sassy U.S. Marshal, makes a stunning impression on escaped convict George Clooney, and boy do the sparks -- emotional and physical -- ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)

eFilmCritic.com (Oz)

Solidly directed by Soderbergh, with strong performances for the two principals as well as nice supporting turns from Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle and Steve Zahn. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Oz)

Salon (Charles Taylor)

What makes "Out of Sight" a grown-up treat is that the mixture of lust and longing is as flawlessly proportioned as the ingredients in a perfect cocktail. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Salon (Charles Taylor)

Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)

Hardly a serious caper film, Out of Sight instead takes a lighter approach, effortlessly offering up as many unexpected chuckles as it does bullets. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marc Savlov)

DVD Authority.com (Matt Brighton)

I'm so glad that George Clooney decided to work with a director like Stephen Sodenberg. Sodenberg took Clooney from sex symbol moviestar and turned him into sex-symbol moviestar/good actor. This was Clooney's finest work to date and I think, still is. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at DVD Authority.com (Matt Brighton)

Deseret News, Salt Lake City

It's still too early to tell whether it was a good idea for George Clooney to quit his day job. But it is looking a little less like it was a bad one. The "ER" star hasn't exactly set the cinematic box office on fire with his previous ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Deseret News, Salt Lake City

USA Today (Andy Seiler)

The low-key approach probably gets closer to the soul of Leonard, but it lacks zip. As a result, Out of Sight sometimes runs out of gas. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at USA Today (Andy Seiler)

Mr. Brown's Movies (Michael Dequina)

The impossibly glamorous and charismatic pair of Clooney and Lopez absolutely sizzle from their first moment together. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Mr. Brown's Movies (Michael Dequina)

Globe and Mail (Rick Groen)

Out of Sight isn't just a rousing piece of entertainment, it's also a cinematic salvage operation. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Globe and Mail (Rick Groen)

TV Guide (Maitland McDonagh)

Steven Soderbergh's direction conjures an understated '70s vibe, striking an apparently effortless balance between grit and glamour. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at TV Guide (Maitland McDonagh)

Film Threat (Ron Wells)

Clooney has finally made a GOOD movie. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Film Threat (Ron Wells)

Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

Clooney and Lopez work well together... ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

DVD MovieGuide

In addition to being witty, clever, and extremely well realized, Out of Sight has two things going for it that are almost impossible to find in movies: subtlety and real sex appeal. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at DVD MovieGuide

Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)

A notorious bank robber busts out of prison with the help of a former inmate but kidnaps a female US Marshal on the escape route. The Marshal escapes and the two felons make their way to Detroit to try to scam a white collar criminal they met in prison. T ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)

San Francisco Examiner (Barbara Shulgasser)

Out of Sight needed the energetic and stylish hand of "Get Shorty" director Barry Sonnenfeld. Instead, a sad-sackish Soderbergh ( "sex, lies and videotape") comes at this material looking as if his mind was on something else, something much, much more ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at San Francisco Examiner (Barbara Shulgasser)

Teen Movie Critic (Vivian Rose)

The only reason you should see Out of Sight is if you're a woman who just wants to drool over George Clooney. But hey, for that you could just stay home and watch ER - which at least has a plot- for free. Okay, just forget this movie entirely. ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Teen Movie Critic (Vivian Rose)

Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)

Out of Sight engaged me less and less, until by the end I no longer cared which of the characters lived or died. Not even the engaging Jennifer Lopez, George Clooney, Albert Brooks, Don Cheadle, and Ving Rhames or the talented secondary cast can survive ...read the complete Out of Sight movie review at Chicago Reader (Jonathan Rosenbaum)

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