Critic Reviews for Detroit on Moviebuff.com

Kathryn Bigelow directs John Boyega in a stunningly shot story of disturbing police brutality and civil unrest in 1960s Detroit

Mark Kermode, The Guardian

Amid the erupting 1967 Detroit riots, John Boyega plays a security guard drawn in to a grotesque showdown with racist cops at the Algiers Motel

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Detroit ceases to be a historical drama and becomes the most exploitative type of horror film.

Rick Kisonak, Seven Days

Although the film depicts human cruelty in a compulsory tone, and does so because it’s truthful, it becomes almost impersonal as the brutalities stack up

John Serba, MLive.com

There’s no doubt that Detroit is an extreme and visceral experience, from the early minutes when the riots begin, through the night at the Algiers, and into the legal fallout after the murders

Fletcher Powell, KMUW

Kathryn Bigelow’s timely, taut “Detroit” puts us inside a real-life nightmare

The Seattle Times Source, The Seattle Times

Detroit is tense and thoroughly gripping

MaryAnn Johanson, FlickFilosopher.com

All in all this is a very skillfully made film about difficult subject matter, and definitely worthy of Oscar consideration

Kathryn Whitney Boole, Santa Monica Daily Press

Detroit is not an easy film to watch—through no fault of Bigelow, who again shows an impeccable guiding hand for these sorts of high-octane, serious thrillers—but the story it tells is essential

Drew Wheeler, flagpole

Kathryn Bigelow's new docudrama Detroit emphasizes immediacy and brutality over historical context.

William Bibbiani, IGN

“Detroit” a searing revelation of hidden 1960s history

Khari J Sampson, Gwinnett Daily Post

Detroit is a sad and missed opportunity

Alan Cerny, ComingSoon.net

The picture's central defect, however, is the skepticism it stirs in us about the events we're watching

Kurt Loder, Reason

Kathryn Bigelow's 'Detroit' is a stunning, wrenching homegrown horror story

Andrea Mandell, USA Today

By the time you get to the end of Detroit, you’ll be reeling, slightly punch drunk even

Freda Cooper, Flickering Myth

Director Kathryn Bigelow captures the ongoing war at home

Matt Goldberg, Collider

Bringing together a fantastic young ensemble, each member delivering an utterly gripping performance, it's a stunning, emotional cinematic experience with a clear statement to make and a powerful delivery

Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend

Detroit is a story that must be examined for better or worse to help understand the problems society is still dealing with today.

CBS Tampa Bay Source, CBS Tampa Bay

"Detroit" is an audacious, nervy work of art, but it also commemorates history, memorializes the dead and invites reflection on the part of the living.

Ann Hornaday, New Orleans Los Angeles News

“Detroit” begins to trade its vivid sense of nuance — especially present in its delicate observation of Fred and Larry’s friendship — for bluntness and sensationalism

AO Scott, The New York Times

Kathryn Bigelow knows how to create an intense drama

Adann Kenn Alexxandar, The Valdosta Daily Times

“Detroit” is presented as a valuable portrait of a bloody, violent, and important moment of American history.

Angelica Jade Bastien, Roger Ebert

Kathryn Bigelow’s latest can’t match the intensity of its subject matter

Jacob Oller, Film School Rejects

Detroit winds up being less of a mold-breaker for Bigelow and Boal for the same reason, since their previous collaborations were arguably better at making for both worthwhile journalism and good cinema.

Sandy Schaefer, Screen Rant

This is a hard movie to watch, and if there is anything that the filmmakers have succeeded in doing more than anything else, it is in creating an uncomfortable experience

Michael Smith, Tulsa World