It does manage to be an engrossing faux saga, nonetheless, despite a handful of foibles that work against its success.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Aug 29, 2019

It's nothing that hasn't been seen numerous times before, and despite the injection of a starry line-up of some of the finest actors working today, the creative duo fail to bring anything particularly innovative or new to an already crowded table.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 3, 2019

Blood Ties, despite pumping out some exhilarating action sequences, ends up becoming a clich-ridden work.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 14, 2018

Canet delivers a character-centered thriller that doesn't break so much as an inch of new ground.

| Original Score: C+ | Jun 27, 2016

Everything is in place to have created a truly sensational piece of cinema, and yet you can't help feeling somewhat cold towards this film, despite the memorable, impactful finale.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 29, 2014

While the story centres on twisted moral dilemmas, this 1970s-set thriller takes such a hesitant, internalised approach that if never lets viewers under the characters' skin.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 21, 2014

The film is too sprawling and unfocused to deliver real emotional clout, but there are are some gripping stand-offs along the way.

| Aug 16, 2014

In its lesser moments, the film is overwrought and derivative but, at its best, it has a real flavour of Friedkin, Coppola and Scorsese.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 15, 2014

It starts out feeling like too many stars in search of a story, but Owen excels as a charismatic brute, and the tautly handled set pieces drag you back in for a solid payoff.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 15, 2014

As much a family drama as a crime thriller, Blood Ties is character-driven, so sparing in terms of action, although the regular eruptions of violence pack a genuine punch.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 15, 2014

Blood Ties is the kind of film that Martin Scorsese or Sidney Lumet might have made back in the 1970s.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 14, 2014

A cunningly chosen soundtrack featuring the likes of Ace Frehley, Al Wilson and the Isley Brothers attempts to paper over the cracks withcool, but it's not convincing.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 14, 2014

Not quite an unimaginative crime film, not quite something better.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 14, 2014

Blood Ties has a heart of plastic. Yet there's a sturdiness to the script, and the performances are real enough to crackle.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 14, 2014

If you hear an unearthly sound during Blood Ties, it might be Sidney Lumet's ghost attempting to contact his lawyer.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 13, 2014

There are scenes, moments and performances that all burn brightly but the sprawling Blood Ties never quite lets rip, or manages to connect up all these promising dots.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 11, 2014

Canet's sprawling saga is overlong and overfamiliar.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 11, 2014

Canet, who showed his aptitude with the gripping Tell No One, can't bring this dull period piece to life.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 11, 2014

Wade through all the flares and flare-ups and you'll be rewarded: the ending is absolutely killer.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 11, 2014

feels like an over-adapted novel

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 9, 2014