48
Metascore
25 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Boxoffice MagazineRay GreeneBoxoffice MagazineRay GreeneRed Hook Summer begins as a gentle character comedy and then erupts into a sudden reversal that is possibly the most powerful and disturbing sequence Lee has ever created. It's a film that makes you laugh, weep, rage and gasp, and, love it or hate it, you will definitely talk about it afterward.
- 80Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfThe new drama, best viewed as a church movie, is a return to the kind of corner-chat indie cinema Lee revolutionized, with an emphasis on a towering performance by The Wire's Clarke Peters as a local bishop inflamed with the Word.
- 75The PlaylistTodd GilchristThe PlaylistTodd GilchristUltimately, Lee's clarity of vision hasn't been this sharp or unique since before "Crooklyn," and it's thrilling with Red Hook Summer to witness a return to the technique – and most of all, emotional wallop – that even today continues to give his films an enduring life as both entertainment, and enlightenment.
- 75Slant MagazineGlenn Heath Jr.Slant MagazineGlenn Heath Jr.The seamless juxtaposition of faith and pain, innocence and guilt, allows the film to transcend Spike Lee's occasional bombastic moments and become a strong examination of internal suffering.
- 58The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe film's 121-minute running time is similarly cause for concern. Lee can be tight and focused as a gun-for-hire, but he's always viewed personal projects as irresistible invitations to self-indulgence and overreaching. Red Hook Summer is no exception.
- 50Village VoiceNick SchagerVillage VoiceNick SchagerAn alternately evocative and lumbering portrait of a multifaceted community.
- 42Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanRed Hook Summer has some fantastic gospel numbers, but as drama it's a casserole that never comes together.
- 30The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterLee's latest rambles through almost two hours of unfocused drama, burdened with endless didactic editorializing, before lurching out of nowhere into ugly revelations and violence.
- 30The New YorkerDavid DenbyThe New YorkerDavid DenbyA clear failure, yet Lee is getting at things that mystify him, and I was touched by parts of the movie. [13 & 20 Aug. 2012, p.97]