47
Metascore
29 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70TheWrapDave WhiteTheWrapDave WhiteMasterminds is kinder to its characters than most comedies about the bumbling and under-educated, and that’s Hess’s strength.
- 70VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeIt’s this improv-ready ensemble’s wit and Galifianakis’ own gift for physical humor that account for most of the laugh-out-loud moments, heightened by silly flourishes so eccentric...they could only be found in a Jared Hess movie.
- 63Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanCharlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanBits of welcome weirdness creep in, mainly through the too-brief character of Ghantt’s intense fiancée (Kate McKinnon). But Hess has little time for wit.
- 63Chicago TribuneKatie WalshChicago TribuneKatie WalshMasterminds still has its riotously funny moments, thanks to the fearless, uninhibited actors and a director who lets them play.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenAt its playful best, the screenplay by Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer and Emily Spivey sends up crime-movie clichés with a light touch, and Hess shows uncharacteristic restraint in letting those moments play out without reaching for punchlines.
- 50Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzArizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzSometimes it’s absurdist comedy. Sometimes it’s dark comedy. Sometimes it’s out-and-out killing-people drama (almost, but not quite). It’s often funny, but it never quite hangs together as a coherent movie.
- 40EmpireNick de SemlyenEmpireNick de SemlyenThe film strains in two different directions, half trying to stay true to its based-on-fact roots, half wanting to ditch all that and become a ridiculous farce.
- 40We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoWe Got This CoveredMatt DonatoIf you’re laughing at all throughout Masterminds, it’s probably because of Jason Sudeikis.
- 25IndieWireKate ErblandIndieWireKate ErblandIt’s every cheap, fast, loose, pointless joke in the book, and barely any of them can clear a solid laugh.
- 20The GuardianJordan HoffmanThe GuardianJordan HoffmanMasterminds is a bit of an interesting case study, as it is basically a Coen brothers film but put through a mechanism that removes all the wit, visual style or excitement. In its place are tortuously dull set-pieces, rambling dialogue and banal stagings.