

New Focus Movie Got Mixed Reviews From Top Critics
New Focus movie got mixed reviews from top critics. Warner Bros. Pictures released their new action/drama flick, “Focus,” into theaters this weekend, and the top movie critics have submitted all of their reviews. It turns out that they were pretty mixed about it, giving it an overall 56 score out of a possible 100 across 40 reviews at Metacritic.com.
The movie stars: Will Smith, Rodrigo Santoro, Gerald McRaney and Margot Robbie. We’ve added blurbs from a few of the critics,below.
Richard Roeper at the Chicago Sun-Times, gave it a nice 88 score, saying: “This is just sheer, escapist entertainment from start to finish.”
James Rocchi from TheWrap, gave it a great 80 score, stating: “Like a perfect cocktail mixes the sour with the sweet and the bright with the boozy, Focus combines seamless, superbly-crafted filmmaking with the fizz and fun created by its leads.”
Christy Lemire at RogerEbert.com, gave it a 75 grade, saying: “Co-stars Will Smith and Margot Robbie remain consistently charismatic, even once the script for this heist caper collapses in a punishing pile of its own twists and double-crosses.”
Chris Nashawaty over at Entertainment Weekly gave it a good 75. He said: “What keeps the film humming along as smoothly as it does is the chemistry and charisma of its leads.”
A.O. Scott from The New York Times, gave it a 70 score. He stated: ” The preposterousness of the story doesn’t seem like a rip-off, since the twists in the plot, for the most part, pay off nicely.”
Betsy Sharkey from the Los Angeles Times, gave it a 70 grade, saying: “The film is breezy from start to finish.” Peter Debruge from Variety, gave it a 70. He said: “While not quite the “art” it’s billed to be, if the perfect con is about diverting one’s focus, then this one keeps you distracted till the end.”
Ty Burr at the Boston Globe, gave it a 63, stating: “There’s a terrific popcorn movie in Focus — a con-game romantic comedy that bubbles along on a playful high and that keeps the audience guessing in a state of delighted suspension of disbelief. Unfortunately, that movie is over after 40 minutes, and Focus still has another hour or so to go.”
Peter Travers from Rolling Stone, gave it a 63 as well, saying: “I’m a sucker for caper movies in which impossibly clever con artists do impossibly dangerous things while looking impossibly gorgeous. I could feel Focus trying to be that caper. I’m not asking for nirvana, such as Hitchcock’s “Notorious” or David O. Russell’s “American Hustle,” just a taste of sexy escapism. A taste is all you get in Focus, but it’ll do till the whole enchilada comes along.”
Claudia Puig at USA Today, gave it a 63. She said: ” Focus never quite comes into clear view. It’s a muddled and twisting romantic caper that at times feels like Steven Soderbergh lite.”
Michael Phillips at the Chicago Tribune, gave it a 50 score, stating: “Screen chemistry between two individuals isn’t really a pass/fail proposition. There are degrees involved. But let’s pretend otherwise and say yes, Smith and Robbie pass, barely, with less than flying colors and in a pretty dull movie.”
Todd McCarthy over at The Hollywood Reporter, gave it a 50 grade, saying: “This ultra-slick, fantasy-inducing visit to an international wonder world of wealth and deception plays more like an inventory of thieving and gambling techniques than a captivating diversion, even if it’s hard not to be voyeuristically pulled in by some of its ruses.”
Joe Morgenstern at the Wall Street Journal, gave it a 40 score, saying: “Ms. Robbie, on the other hand, aces her role from the start; she’s got an unerring gift for romantic comedy. Still, the film itself comes to feel like a con, thanks to a script that’s too clever by two-thirds, and butterfingered in the ways of portraying love.”
Kyle Smith from the New York Post, gave it a 25 score, saying: “Preposterous, slipshod, unfunny and emotionally null.” Mick LaSalle at the San Francisco Chronicle, gave it a bad 25 grade. He said: “The emotional core of the movie, the relationship between Nicky and Jess, lacks impact, mostly because you can’t believe a word that they say, but also because Smith is not a strong leading man.”
Lastly, Joe Neumaier at the New York Daily News, gave it the worst score of 20, claiming: “Will Smith may have run through every trick in his bag. In Focus, the one-time fresh prince and former box-office champ looks tired, bored and, even worse, uninspired.” Stay tuned. Follow us on Facebook by Clicking Here. Follow us on Google Plus by Clicking Here. Follow us on Twitter by Clicking Here.
Did You Enjoy this Post? Subscribe to Hollywood Hills on Facebook, Twitter, & Email