Harry Brown might just about have got by as a tongue-in-cheek popcorn romp, but by setting itself up as a virtual state-of-the-nation address it only draws attention to its own petty, embittered vacuity.

| Jul 10, 2018

| Original Score: 1/5 | Nov 18, 2011

A lot to digest stylistically and narratively, but Harry Brown is developed in an ever-increasing, shock-inducing manner and is undeniably successful.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 13, 2010

Caine, that master of gentle sadness, lets us know Harry immediately as a good man trying to get by -- and trying to understand what seems like madness.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 1, 2010

After a long run of baroquely plotted crime dramas like Layer Cake and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, it's a little depressing to come across a vigilante drama whose sole twist is its protagonist's advanced age.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jun 10, 2010

It's simply the tale of a man who decides to do something and sticks to his guns, so to speak. That the man is played by Michael Caine is what makes it worthwhile.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 27, 2010

The film is dark, beautifully half-lit and as controlled as it needs to be so Caine can work his way deeper into the character. His performance is astonishing: Harry is stooped, no longer physically strong, but he has immense reserves.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 21, 2010

Stylishly filmed in a grimy palette of putrescent green and muddy brown, the movie seems at times almost to revel in the nastiness it depicts.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | May 21, 2010

On one side, it's all compellingly believable; on the other, it's simply incredible. We do our best to straddle the rift but, in the end, the gulf proves too wide, the contrast too great, and a tumbling movie takes us down with it.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 21, 2010

The film ranks right up there with Sleuth, Get Carter and Mona Lisa as being amongst Caineâ(TM)s toughest and best performances.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 20, 2010

In Gran Torino, Eastwood took on the moral issues that screenwriter Gary Young and first-time director Daniel Barber studiously avoid. It's the difference between riveting and repellent.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 14, 2010

Such familiarity can breed contempt among all but the most bloodthirsty, and it would in Harry Brown as well if not for Caine, who somehow breathes life into the most cardboard of characters.

| Original Score: C+ | May 14, 2010

Exploitative and crass, the film paints an ugly portrait of youth gone wild and the ineffectuality of the police to curb the menace.

| Original Score: 2/5 | May 14, 2010

Michael Caine delivers a stunning performance in Harry Brown, a rancid little revenge fantasy that probably doesn't deserve him.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | May 14, 2010

Working itself into a lather of confrontation and conspiratorial hooey, Harry Brown ends in a cross fire of incredulity and cliché.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 13, 2010

When it comes to combining vulnerability and menace, nobody does it quite like Caine.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 13, 2010

Caine acts dignified throughout, but there's no way to dignify dreck.

| Original Score: D- | May 7, 2010

Here are these terrible social problems, these kids dealing drugs and disrespecting their elders. What are we going to do about it? Just blow their heads off.

Full Review | May 3, 2010

Caine is magnificent as the title character, combining the sentiment of his more recent screen persona with the steely resolve he exhibited as an action hero in the 60s and 70s.

| Apr 30, 2010

[Michael Caine] performs his nasty work with verve, not only because he's fired a lot of movie guns, but also because he brings the memory of his great roles to every part.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Apr 30, 2010