60
Metascore
30 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The New York TimesDana StevensThe New York TimesDana StevensThe story, to the extent that it is comprehensible, is pretentious and banal, closer to "Vanilla Sky" than "Notorious." But Mr. De Palma proves that, in the absence of insight or ideas, some amazing things are possible. It is possible, for instance, to be entranced by a movie without believing it for a second.
- 75Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean AxmakerSeattle Post-IntelligencerSean AxmakerIt's hard to call it thrilling -- these aren't characters you actually care about and De Palma isn't as concerned with building tension as playing visual games -- but it sure sparkles.
- 70VarietyLisa NesselsonVarietyLisa NesselsonAn extravagant suspense cocktail of wacky and lascivious ingredients that goes down fine.
- 63New York Daily NewsJami BernardNew York Daily NewsJami BernardSexy, witty, energetic and gorgeous, but it is as stripped of the human element (in some of its production design, as well) as a minimalist Calvin Klein store.
- 63Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaPhiladelphia InquirerSteven ReaFemme Fatale is glossy, glamorous cinema as collage. Maybe all the pieces of a truly good film noir are here, but the filmmaker has opted simply to toss them into the air and let them fall where they may.
- 63Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonThe film is De Palma's tribute to film noir, to Paris and to the cinema itself.
- 50The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyEven if it's accepted simply as glitter-sprayed trash, sophomorically plotted and incompetently acted, Femme Fatale is a uniquely De Palma kind of effluence, an exercise in auteur self-parody.
- 50San Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannSan Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannSexy and passably entertaining, with a plot that's too clever by half.
- 40Film ThreatFilm ThreatRebecca Romijn-Stamos is just plain HOT in this film and other than that...we got ourselves a stinker.
- 38New York PostMegan LehmannNew York PostMegan LehmannDe Palma fools around with split screens and slo-mo, but no amount of cinematic artifice can varnish over the fact that this is simply a bad film.