See How They Run Reviews Roundup - A Clueless Whodunnit? -

See How They Run is a new whodunnit mystery thrillers starring Saorise Ronan, Sam Rockwell, Harris Dickinson, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, Charlie Cooper, Sian Clifford and Pearl Chanda. The film is helmed by Tom George with a screenplay from Mark Chappell. The premise of the is obvious given the genre but in that it is quite intriguing, “An investigation of the murder of a Hollywood film director, Leo Köpernick (Adrien Brody). Leo had been hired to adapt the play, and he was killed in cold blood at the theater, making all the show’s players potential suspects and, they fear, potential future victims.” I like whodunnits and especially the ones made well, I’m excited for this. Murder Mystery according to me is a dying genre and I appreciate any filmmaker who is trying to save it be it Rian Johnson or Kenneth Branagh. The film was recently released, so the critics who got an opportunity to watch See How They Run have given out their thoughts. Let’s see what they’re saying.

See How They Run: A Failed Agatha Christie Spoof?

See How They Run look like a desperate attempt to make a twisty whodunnit which itself has no idea where the story is going. Looking at the cast, you’d think the film is one of those underrated ventures that will get recognized over time. The cast might mislead you into thinking this is a Wes Anderson film. It’s not. The film currently has a Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 71% score and a 6.8/10 score on IMDb. Keeping the scores aside, let’s see what are the comments associated with the film.

Rafer Guzman
Newsday
“This snoozy whodunit-spoof doesn’t have a clue.”
Original Score: 1.5/4

Michael O’Sullivan
Washington Post
“Christie’s 1952 play… provides a fun backdrop, if one rendered irreverently, for this diverting puzzle within a puzzle.”
Original Score: 3/4G. Allen Johnson
San Francisco Chronicle
“With its postcard mid-20th century London setting, classic movie references and a sweet, winning comic performance from Saoirse Ronan, it acts as comfort food for the genre’s aficionados.”
Original Score: 2.5/4

Soren Andersen
Seattle Times
“A most delightful comedy, thanks above all to Ronan.”
Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4

Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic
“The phrase “too clever by half” seems insufficient to describe “See How They Run,” a meta mystery film with an outstanding cast and an exhausting sense of self-satisfaction.”

Original Score: 2.5/5

Chris Barsanti
Slant Magazine
“A whodunnit romp in the key of Wes Anderson.”
Original Score: 2.5/4

Richard Brody
New Yorker
“The movie’s one good idea, regarding the perilous connections of art and life, is tossed off casually.”

Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
“… A film that’s aiming to capture the ingenious élan of Knives Out or the Neil Simon classic Murder by Death but too often drifts into the workmanlike doldrums of Adam Sandler’s Murder Mystery.”
Original Score: 2/5

Jason Bailey
The Playlist
“Comedy is all about timing, and the timing here is all off, so the laughs are disturbingly few. What a missed opportunity this is.”
Original Score: C-

Danny Leigh
Financial Times
“Enough affection for period, place and genre runs through his [Tom George] movie to drown out — just about — the creaks and clanks.”

Original Score: 3/5

Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph (UK)
“It’s a whizzy fairground ride in theatreland, powered entirely by the thought of a literary icon spinning in her grave.”
Original Score: 4/5

Ian Freer
Empire Magazine
“See How They Run is the whodunnit as hoot, with lots of laughs, oodles of style and played with verve by a quality cast. It also reconfirms Saoirse Ronan as a comedy god.”
Original Score: 4/5

Mark Kennedy
Detroit News
“The filmmakers employ all kinds of ways to try to keep viewers interested, like split screens, some farce and a surreal dream sequence, but there’s not enough humor or grit or anything other than actors swanning around in period clothing.”
Original Score: DChris Hewitt
Minneapolis Star Tribune
“In a perfect world, “See How They Run” — like “Mousetrap” — would run forever.”
Original Score: 3.5/4

Teo Bugbee
New York Times
“With a sprightly wit and an all-star cast to bring it to life, the movie manages to be a loving parody of theater gossips, postwar London and Christie’s murder mysteries all at once.”

Richard Whittaker
Austin Chronicle
“See How They Run is still a silly if slight affair, playful without ever being weighty.”
Original Score: 3/5

Nina Metz
Chicago Tribune

“I’m not saying whodunits should be humorless. Far from it! But it’s as if all the reliable tropes, the twists and turns, are seen as passe and best mitigated with self-aware comedy skewering it all.”
Original Score: 2/4Randy Myers
San Jose Mercury News
“A crafty mystery-within-a-mystery brain twister that plays its sleight of hand with skill and spirit.”
Original Score: 3/4

Mark Kennedy
Associated Press
“Whodunits are hot. But if you’ve see this one, you’ve definitely seen them all.”
Original Score: 1/4

Leigh Monson
AV Club
“‘See How They Run’ is too reverent to its forebears and too toothless in its satire to elevate beyond an overly self-aware genre exercise—competent enough, but all too eager to shoot any attempted subtlety dead where it stands.”
Original Score: B-

See How They Run is currently playing in theatres near you.

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Sameer Talawdekar

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A student of cinema with a keen eye and an acquired taste. Blunt and critical while reviewing, if Sameer says a film is good, it’s basically a guarantee that it is. He may not like what you do, but that’s what makes him a quality fit for any cinema publication. He craves excellence and perfection and that’s why you can blindly trust his word!

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