80
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineRozsa's pounding score and a savage climax make Brute Force first rate all the way.
- 88Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonA socially conscious prison picture (written by Richard Brooks) that sometimes deliriously suggests a Brooklynesque mating of Jean Genet and Warner Bros. [20 Apr 2007, p.C8]
- 83The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinBrilliantly photographed by William H. Daniels, Brute Force is both a humanistic personal drama and a bravura piece of genre filmmaking.
- 83IndieWireIndieWireAs it successfully delves into the baser instincts of men from all sides, imprisoned either by their thirst for power or their unwillingness to give up, few films can compare.
- 80The New York TimesBosley CrowtherThe New York TimesBosley CrowtherJules Dassin's steel-springed direction keeps the whole thing approriately taut.
- Brute Force was the first important assignment of leftwing director Jules Dassin.
- 80Time OutTime OutDespite a loss of temperature through the flashbacks which let in some female interest, this is one of Dassin's best films
- 75Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrJules Dassin wasn't a bad director before he went to Europe and caught a bad case of Art (He Who Must Die), and this 1947 prison picture, done in the gritty late-40s documentary style, is one of his best efforts.
- 70The New YorkerPauline KaelThe New YorkerPauline KaelThe title is accurate: this is a crudely powerful prison picture.