42
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 67Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerAustin ChronicleRichard WhittakerSo often, romance subplots in Texas noir feel like afterthoughts, there to increase a little bit of tension. But South of Heaven’s most meaningful moments are in the interplay between Lilly and Sudeikis as the star-crossed lovers with time most definitely not on their side.
- 63Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperChicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperSouth of Heaven devolves into a rote thriller, with henchmen upon henchmen upon henchmen falling by the wayside until the inevitable showdown — which plays out in underwhelming fashion.
- 50The A.V. ClubCraig D. LindseyThe A.V. ClubCraig D. LindseyStraight-faced and suspenseful at first, wacky and almost randomly nihilistic afterwards, South Of Heaven just doesn’t know what it wants to be.
- 50The Film StageJared MobarakThe Film StageJared MobarakPerhaps that’s the point: selfish men do selfish things while the people they love pay the price. That’s a lesson. And it might have worked if not for the sunny, hopeful air of its surrounding package. South of Heaven isn’t dark enough to buy that as its intent.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckSouth of Heaven is the type of film that’s good enough to make you wish it were better, its problematic whole being less than the sum of its admirable parts.
- 40The New York TimesAmy NicholsonThe New York TimesAmy NicholsonThe execution is at once laconic and nonsensical.
- 40VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanThe movie gives Jason Sudeikis a chance to act without the safety net of comedy, and he proves that he’s got the right stuff. But next time he needs to do it in a movie that offers the safety net of believability.
- 38RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyRogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyWritten and directed by Aharon Keshales, whose debut (2010's Rabies) was an attention-getting nail-biter, South of Heaven—with a couple of exceptions—is inert and unimaginative.
- 30TheWrapElizabeth WeitzmanTheWrapElizabeth WeitzmanPresumably, Sudeikis took this job to prove his dramatic skills, and he does deserve credit for achieving that goal. What he’s never able to generate, though, is a compelling case for the movie itself.