62
Metascore
32 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91Portland OregonianShawn LevyPortland OregonianShawn LevyFeels as true as a documentary, as painful as a blow to the heart.
- 80VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyJolting, superbly acted film.
- 80Film.comGemma FilesFilm.comGemma FilesA true achievement -- no matter who eventually wants to take, or deny, credit for its creation.
- An inflated yet gut-slugging film.
- 75USA TodayMike ClarkUSA TodayMike ClarkWhile this movie is sometimes overbaked, it is the first major studio release in a while to engross wall-to-wall.
- 70Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumThe movie can't explain as much as it wants to about what makes (and unmakes) a skinhead, but it carries us a fair distance.
- 70Washington PostMichael O'SullivanWashington PostMichael O'SullivanTrenchant and visceral, American History X may not be perfect, but it's a darn sight better than good.
- 50Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranFor all its surface verisimilitude and for all its focus on a problem that couldn't be more current, this film can't manage to feel more than sporadically real.
- 50San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleAs a visit to a world and a way of life most of us will never experience, American History X is vivid, and it feels honest. At the very least, it's not typical.
- 20Village VoiceVillage VoiceA mess of a film.