Critic Reviews
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Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune
...a fast-paced thriller that probably will leave Alfred Hitchcock aficionados mourning its shallowness -- but not until after they've enjoyed an adrenaline rush.
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Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail
None of the amusement gained in watching the performances, unfortunately, amounts to much, as the script, in a desperate attempt to lend action interest to the original, static, puzzle plot, compounds surprise turn after surprise turn.
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Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
What the film lacks is suspense, surprise (the new ending is a dud) and passion.
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Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
A Perfect Murder begins better than it ends, and the pleasures it offers turn out to be more of a transitory nature.
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Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
What Andrew Davis has essentially done is to take one three-star movie and turn it into another three-star movie.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
I think it works like a nasty little machine to keep us involved and disturbed; my attention never strayed, and one of the elements I liked was the way Paltrow's character isn't sentimentalized.
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James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
slick and twisted tale provides two delicious hours of intrigue and mystery, along with some unexpected wit and black comedy...
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Anthony Miele, Film Threat
...the film is so lacking in anything original that it is hardly worth recommending.
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Wade Major, Boxoffice Magazine
...simpers along with relatively little suspense or thrills...
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Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
A resolução não faz jus às duas primeiras horas de projeção.
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Elias Savada, Nitrate Online
A streamlined, high gloss, touch-tone remake of the lesser-Hitchcock classic. Harken ye back to the days of rotary dialing.
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Steve Rhodes, Internet Reviews
A thriller without much genuine suspense isn't much of a thriller even if the atmospherics are dead-on.
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Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
This unscary thriller also suffers from dreadful miscasting, not the least of which is pairing Gwyneth Paltrow and Michael Douglas as the leads.
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Chris Grunden, Film Journal International
Somewhere, Alfred Hitchcock is yawning.
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Barbara Shulgasser, San Francisco Examiner
Paltrow, too, is generally a good actress but there is a paint-by-numbers quality to her work here.
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Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
As is the case with too many remakes, the slick new take falls short.
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Liz Braun, Jam! Movies
...the story offers so many lapses in logic, so many plot holes and so much dialogue to howl for that there's plenty to talk about afterward.
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, E! Online
Davis weaves a gorgeously lush film, charged with high tension, but the listless script renders his efforts alarmingly mundane.
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Ian Freer, Empire Magazine
While the resolution may never be in doubt, how the film arrives there is a constant source of pleasure.
Read all 19 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Director Andrew Davis creates an effective and good looking thriller with his film adaptation of Frederick Knott's play Dial M for Murder. You could also say that this is a remake of Hitchcock's 50's classic but the approach which Davis uses is quite different from… More
Director Andrew Davis creates an effective and good looking thriller with his film adaptation of Frederick Knott's play Dial M for Murder. You could also say that this is a remake of Hitchcock's 50's classic but the approach which Davis uses is quite different from Hitchcock's and surprisingly Davis even surpasses Hitchcock when it comes to building a tension.
Darius Wolski's cinematography is one of he film's major strenghts and James Newton Howard creates effective score for the whole film and it's running time. Film's leading trio is also fantastic and especially Michael Douglas is made for these kind parts as he plays here. His Steven Taylor is a odd mixture of a sociopath and opportunist that audience can actually feel empathy for. There are times even when i myself wasn't sure that did i wish him to walk out of the whole mess with a clean hands. Gwyneth Paltrow is a elegant and classy actress who is perfect as a story's victim Emily Bradford. She is vulnerable and equally strong character with nods to greatest women characters from Hitcock's films. While Viggo Mortensen is suitable in a role as a good looking con-painter, he is also easily the film's weakest link when it comes to acting. He just cannot match the chemistry and skill of Paltrow and Douglas here. Extra credit goes for David Suchet in a nice little role as a detective Karaman. Suchet is always pleasure to watch and he certainly deserves more roles than he has gotten in a recent years.
A Perfect Murder might not be nothing that special as a film but it serves us thrilling and twisty cat and mouse game that will keep audiences glued to the screens. If you enjoy well made thrillers then you will quite possibly enjoy this film. It is very well made entertainment with best production values possible.
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Modern version of Hitchcock movie 'Dial M for Murder'. A rich wife Emily (Gwyneth) has an affair with a shady artist (Viggo). Her husband Steven (Michael) finds out and blackmails his wife's lover into killing her. It would have been the perfect murder but it does not… More
Modern version of Hitchcock movie 'Dial M for Murder'. A rich wife Emily (Gwyneth) has an affair with a shady artist (Viggo). Her husband Steven (Michael) finds out and blackmails his wife's lover into killing her. It would have been the perfect murder but it does not all go to plan. Great cast. Great plot. Viggo actually painted the paintings in the loft.
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A typical mid-90's thriller with the murders and the twists and the mystique and the sexual tension. But hey....I like the mid-90's thrillers...they get the money rolling. Pretty okay movie.
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I really wanted to enjoy this movie. It looks amazing on paper, but it just wasn't anything special. The plot started off quite nice, but became an incredibly cheesy and typical ending. I am extremely sick of movies that have to end with the good guy/girl winning. I think the… More
I really wanted to enjoy this movie. It looks amazing on paper, but it just wasn't anything special. The plot started off quite nice, but became an incredibly cheesy and typical ending. I am extremely sick of movies that have to end with the good guy/girl winning. I think the idea that you can remake Dial M for Murder and make it better or even on par is an utter joke. Even with actors like Michael Douglas and Viggo Mortensen, you can't top Hitchcock.
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A very good thriller with a great well established cast. Pity David Suchet didn't get a bit more screen time though. Has some good twists but nothing you don't really expect to be honest. Definitely worth a watch though.
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The remake of Hitchcock?s ?Dial M for Murder? and a good job of it was made. Some slight variences from the original storyline, but all the important parts were included.
A story with great twists, Douglas plays rich and arrogant very well and we see a not so well known at the… More
The remake of Hitchcock?s ?Dial M for Murder? and a good job of it was made. Some slight variences from the original storyline, but all the important parts were included.
A story with great twists, Douglas plays rich and arrogant very well and we see a not so well known at the time Viggo Mortensen too.
A great thriller, based on love, betrayal, revenge and money.
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the best thing about this movie is gwyneth paltrow.
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I've just watched 'A Perfect Murder', and once again I'm impressed by Michael Douglas' performance.
Maybe Michael Douglas is very good at reading scripts, because almost all his movies are good or at least average. New Douglas movies like One Night at… More
I've just watched 'A Perfect Murder', and once again I'm impressed by Michael Douglas' performance.
Maybe Michael Douglas is very good at reading scripts, because almost all his movies are good or at least average. New Douglas movies like One Night at McCool's and Traffic confirms Douglas' skills to choose roles.
It shouldn't all be about Douglas, but I needed to praise this great actor. The movie is pretty exciting with some thrills throughout the whole movie. Gwyneth Paltrow and Viggo Mortensen are good supporting actors and their performances shouldn't be missed either.
If you like an exciting crime story with some complications, then 'A Perfect Murder' is a good choice. It is good, but there are better movies on the market .
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A magnificent murder-romance thriller with exceptional characterizations, Andrew Davis brilliantly directs this contemporary spin on Alfred Hitchcock's "Dail M for Murder". Michael Douglas delivers one of his finest performances as a cut-throat millionaire financier and… More
A magnificent murder-romance thriller with exceptional characterizations, Andrew Davis brilliantly directs this contemporary spin on Alfred Hitchcock's "Dail M for Murder". Michael Douglas delivers one of his finest performances as a cut-throat millionaire financier and control freak Steven Taylor, who discovers that his most precious asset his wife Emily, played beautifully by Gwyneth Paltrow has been having a affair with a struggling young artist David Shaw, Viggo Mortensen in a superb turn. Revenge takes on my twists in this impeccably filmed thriller, when Douglas begins to set-up the perfect murder, by hiring his wife's lover to kill her, in order for him to inherit her multi-million dollar trust fund. Outstanding supporting performances by David Suchet, Sarita Choudhury, Constance Towers, Michael P. Moran, and Novella Nelson. But the film is dominated by Douglas who is absolutely perfect, stone-cold and menacing in this role, he manages to be ruthlessy evil and emote boyish charm with his well-known pout. Filmed on location in New York City, the production values are lavish and well-crafted. James Newton Howard moody score is excellent, as is Dariugz Wolski's striking cinematography. Exciting and suspenseful, a must-see. Highly Recommended.
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This stylish and dark drama stars Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow as a married couple ensnared in a web of mutual deceit and treachery. Despite the couple's wealthy lifestyle, neither one is happy. The wife is cheating on the husband. Instead of being furious at her lover… More
This stylish and dark drama stars Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow as a married couple ensnared in a web of mutual deceit and treachery. Despite the couple's wealthy lifestyle, neither one is happy. The wife is cheating on the husband. Instead of being furious at her lover (Viggo Mortenson) Douglas offers him a lot of money to kill his wife and the man accepts. They work out a plan for the perfect murder, but then things go wrong...
The plot is like a time-bomb ready to explode as the story develops into a thrilling and a guessing game to see what will happen to each of the characters.
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Meh I didnt care for this all that much. I often do like this type of movie,but this one was rather boring. The plot is similar to Hitchcocks Dial M for Murder for which I havent seen. So yeah I suggest you check that one out instead of wasting your time with this one. Although I did… More
Meh I didnt care for this all that much. I often do like this type of movie,but this one was rather boring. The plot is similar to Hitchcocks Dial M for Murder for which I havent seen. So yeah I suggest you check that one out instead of wasting your time with this one. Although I did like the ending and the sexy Gwyneth in this movie.
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You can never really buy into the idea of Douglas being married to Paltrow, so when he decides to have her killed, you can't really get too worked up.
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A truly bad copy of Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder,a theatrical exception at times (few individuals,clinging art direction),Unfaithful by Lyne gives the impression it had its influences from this modern version and yet both seem conservative contrary to the elder one.Only thing… More
A truly bad copy of Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder,a theatrical exception at times (few individuals,clinging art direction),Unfaithful by Lyne gives the impression it had its influences from this modern version and yet both seem conservative contrary to the elder one.Only thing is..Unfaithful is somehow original in plot terms.
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Not a perfect movie, but not a bad one. (sorry could resist the play on the name).
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Really goo film. I loved the plot twists at the end.
Read all 15 featured audience ratings
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