A masterclass in precise, auteurist cinema ... Short, sharp, talky, lean, and almost completely inhabited by men, Killing The Softly is cerebral, nasty, and hugely entertaining.
- CJ Johnson, ABC Radio (Australia), December 04, 2012
'Killing Them Softly' collapses under the crushing weight of the director's narcissism.
- Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com, December 04, 2012
Like its source material, the movie is stylish, profane, intelligent, and eminently diverting. But as much as it is a delight that Dominik has disinterred Higgins's work, it is a mild disappointment that the result is not more substantial.
- Christopher Orr, The Atlantic, November 30, 2012
Trading in pleasures of a deliberately rarefied sort, writer-director Andrew Dominik's talky, character-rich genre piece largely short-circuits thrills to sketch a grimly funny portrait of thugs taking care of business, in every rotten sense of the word.
- Justin Chang, Variety, November 30, 2012
Ultimately, as crafted as Killing Them Softly is, it's less satisfying than either The Sopranos or Goodfellas. Still, Dominik and his cast cruise some very mean streets indeed.
- Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post, November 30, 2012
The dialogue is sharp and so are the performances. Andrew Dominik directed this neo-noir in a low-key comic style that's alternately gritty and fancy. The gritty stuff is best.
- Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor, November 30, 2012
Dominik ... expertly captures the flavor of his Higgins source material.
- Soren Anderson, Seattle Times, November 30, 2012
A stylish, brutal affair that delivers grim atmosphere and punishing violence but loses impact in telegraphing its political punches.
- Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail, November 30, 2012
If those cynical politics don't fit yours, you can also enjoy the film as simply a bit of stylishly shot, nicely acted, hardboiled noir.
- Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger, November 30, 2012
Let's just call it DOA.
- Tom Long, Detroit News, November 30, 2012
It isn't much of a movie. I might forgive the slow start if it weren't for the slow middle and slow end.
- Kyle Smith, New York Post, November 30, 2012
Pitt, entering his third decade of fame, continues to show how there was always a deadly serious actor in him all along.
- Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News, November 29, 2012
There is not one moment in the film that doesn't represent the director's carefully considered thought, whether we're talking about acting values, camera placement, sound or style of presentation.
- Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle, November 29, 2012
It's hard to deglamorize the criminal life when you can't resist showing a bullet leaving a gun barrel in stylized super-slow motion or scoring the anti-hero's first entrance to a Johnny Cash song.
- Dana Stevens, Slate, November 29, 2012
It has a weird, buzzing, intense quality that has burrowed its way deep into my brain like some invasive sci-fi organism.
- Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com, November 29, 2012
The writer-director becomes so intent on hammering home the parallels between economic decay, political disappointments and petty criminals, there is nothing soft, or subtle, about it. He should trust his audience more.
- Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times, November 29, 2012
This is a deeply cynical movie, with not much to say but a lot to feel.
- Peter Howell, Toronto Star, November 29, 2012
Languorous to the point of rambling, the story of double-crossing and vengeance is darkly funny, graphically violent and gorgeously shot.
- Claudia Puig, USA Today, November 29, 2012
Complex and problematic in a rather wonderful way, Killing Them Softly has flaws more interesting than some film's perfections.
- Catherine Bray, Film4, March 04, 2013
While the cast is consistently watchable and on-point, Dominik disappoints as both scenarist and filmmaker.
- Alonso Duralde, The Wrap, November 29, 2012
