36
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertOne of the things I like best about Poolhall Junkies is its lack of grim desperation.
- 60TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghBrassy and energetic, first-time director Mars Callahan's vividly photographed ode to the seductive allure of professional sharking succeeds in making the game seem genuinely kinetic and thrilling.
- 60VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyCallahan mostly overcomes its grungy technical quality with entertaining dialogue, nervy confrontation scenes, decent thesping and some truly spectacular shooting on the green velvet.
- 50New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickFor all his skill with a cue, the charisma-challenged Callahan is no Nia Vardalos in the acting department -- let alone a Paul Newman or Tom Cruise.
- 40Los Angeles TimesManohla DargisLos Angeles TimesManohla DargisIt isn't that nothing happens in Poolhall Junkies, it's that nothing interesting does.
- 40Dallas ObserverAndy KleinDallas ObserverAndy KleinThe result is by no means the embarrassment that many such offerings from unjustifiably vain actor-auteurs have been, but nor does it present much of anything new or compelling to demand one's attention.
- 38New York Daily NewsJack MathewsNew York Daily NewsJack MathewsStole so many details from the earlier film, "The Hustler," that you have to think of it as either a bad parody or an unfortunate homage.
- 30L.A. WeeklyPaul MalcolmL.A. WeeklyPaul MalcolmCallahan's feature debut is a one-way ticket to Palookaville.
- 10The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasLooks like a cheap polyester suit, an entirely synthetic composite of scenes from other movies.
- 0Village VoiceVillage VoiceA movie that, in its unconditional embrace of an all-male subculture, amounts to little more than a rote circle jerk.