Critic Reviews
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Todd McCarthy, Variety
Matchstick Men never really casts off its cloak of artificiality and calculation; its pleasures are minor, however distracting they may be.
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Derek Adams, Time Out
Ridley Scott lets us enjoy the satisfying clicks and whirrs of the well-oiled celluloid con trick, while leaving plenty of head room for Cage to twitch and fret in.
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Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
A thoroughly absorbing hour and 56 minutes of entertainment.
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James Berardinelli, ReelViews
Matchstick Men is really two movies brilliantly spliced into one, each enriching the other.
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David Edelstein, Slate
It's a blah little exploitation picture that thinks it's a deep humanist parable.
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Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
Matchstick Men isn't even remotely intricate; it's not even particularly interesting.
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Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
This is a movie about con games at every level.
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Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Nicholas Cage gives his best performance since "Leaving Los Vegas" as con man Roy Waller in this sophisticated movie about familial responsibility, self-imposed barriers and the possibilities of a well executed long con.
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Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
A cleverly planned switcheroo story in which the twist at the end is the knife in the back.
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Ian Nathan, Empire Magazine
Scott tucks away his visual athletics in favour of something leisurely and quietly devastating. It's ultimately far more cunning a script than we can reveal here.
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Brad Slager, Film Threat
Matchstick Men works because of the way the key players handle the material. This is the work of professionals acknowledging a good story and knowing better than to get in the way.
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Rick Kisonak, Film Threat
Something less than the sum of its parts, Matchstick Men is a decent film that should have been a considerably better one.
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Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
A lot more fun than most of the director's pompously inflated output.
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Ethan Alter, NYC Film Critic
What saves Matchstick Men from being a complete washout are the performances by Cage, Sam Rockwell and Alison Lohman.
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Louis-Jérôme Cloutier, Panorama
Mathstick Men se compare aisément à Catch Me If You Can sans atteindre la qualité de Ocean's Eleven.
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Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
Despite its string of crime-caper clichés, [director Ridley] Scott's focus on character and relationship helps the film transcend the typical mediocrity of its genre.
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Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Cage is absolutely terrific down to his eye twitches and neck jerks.
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Tony Medley, tonymedley.com
Director Ridley Scott, whose recent history has brought us wonderful action films like Black Hawk Down and Gladiator, translates Eric Garcia's book about a neurotic con man into a compelling film.
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Mark Collette, Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)
... tenuous and beautiful interaction between Cage and Lohman.
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John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
Cage's role and Cage's acting are terrific. They are the real payoffs in Matchstick Men.
Read all 20 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Matchstick Men is biggest nadir in Ridley Scott's filmography so far and unbearable experience to sit through. With hyper active editing and camerawork this looks more like Tony Scott film on acid.
Things here are not helped by awful performance by Nicolas Cage whose acting here… More
Matchstick Men is biggest nadir in Ridley Scott's filmography so far and unbearable experience to sit through. With hyper active editing and camerawork this looks more like Tony Scott film on acid.
Things here are not helped by awful performance by Nicolas Cage whose acting here is annoying as hell.
Ridley Scott has never been that good with comedy and this is a good example of that. I just could not figure out that was this film supposed to be comedy, drama, thriller or somekind of a heist film. Whatever it's intentions are it fails miserably.
It is also alarming how visually bankrupt this film is. Even at his weakest director Scott has often managed to bring visual flavour to his films, but this has none of that. It looks like a film made by some random MTV-commercial director.
Honestly i cannot find anything good to say about this film. It truly is film where everything seem to went completely wrong for director Scott.
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A complex, very involving drama, "Matchstick Men" displays fantastic lead performances from its main cast comprised of Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell and Alison Lohman, but also heightens director Ridley Scott to a whole new form of filmmaking where he shows that he can tell a… More
A complex, very involving drama, "Matchstick Men" displays fantastic lead performances from its main cast comprised of Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell and Alison Lohman, but also heightens director Ridley Scott to a whole new form of filmmaking where he shows that he can tell a story more through genuine character development than the actual job the film centers on.
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Surprisingly solid acting by Nic Cage in this one, matched by a character driven story with a con sprinkled in. Very light but enjoyable throughout -- a great movie for some laughs on a Friday or Saturday night.
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It's hard to imagine after all his war and gladitorial carnage that the playful tone of this film belongs to director Ridley Scott. It's a nice and very welcome change of pace for him.
Roy (Nicolas Cage) and Frank (Sam Rockwell) are a mismatched duo of low-level con men,… More
It's hard to imagine after all his war and gladitorial carnage that the playful tone of this film belongs to director Ridley Scott. It's a nice and very welcome change of pace for him.
Roy (Nicolas Cage) and Frank (Sam Rockwell) are a mismatched duo of low-level con men, considering that one is an obsessive-compulsive and the other a louche chancer. But their dysfunctional partnership and Roy's teetering sanity face an even bigger challenge in the shape of his 14 year-old daughter Angela (Alison Lohman).
The con artist's profession has always looked like a great way to make a living. Well, maybe that's just the romanticism of Hollywood but nonetheless it still makes a great way for entertainment. Watching the inside plays and set-ups, feeling as if you're part of it and privvy to hush-hush information is always an audience winner. You can also be sure of a few narrative curve balls here and there, before finally getting the rug pulled out from right under your unsuspecting feet. This is no exception. Ridley Scott wisely plays it very low-key from the get-go, leaving the film to play out in the more than capable hands of his actors and he's rewarded with three excellent performances. Nicolas Cage is all tic-ridden and full of phobias and nervous energy. Sam Rockwell is his usual wise-ass sidekick, lending (as always) more than able support and Alison Lohman delivers a spot on portrayal of a naive teenager fascinated by her fathers profession. It's through these performances that we become involved in the story. They're believable characters and despite their swindling ways, they're likeable.
Not normally the type of film that Ridley Scott has been turning his hand to of late but it's still a finely crafted hustle and the performances are top-notch.
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Loses a bit of its energy toward the very end, but the daughter-father chemistry but not really between Cage and Alison Lohman was pretty great, and even greater when you realize how manufactured it all is. Proof that Nicolas Cage can still do stuff, sometimes.
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A really different kind of film for Ridley Scott, it just shows how talented he is on all fronts. It's a great caper type story that really hasn't been done all that well since the 60s, but this is really a standout. The fact that it's so original and different also… More
A really different kind of film for Ridley Scott, it just shows how talented he is on all fronts. It's a great caper type story that really hasn't been done all that well since the 60s, but this is really a standout. The fact that it's so original and different also makes it a cut above, it's not your average grifter movie. Nicolas Cage was amazing as an OCD con artist and always gives a signature charisma while on camera. Sam Rockwell and Alison Lohman really did a nice job too and worked well at making you buy into the long con. It's very manipulative, which I loved, but a lot of people will take it as a weakness.
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I was looking forward to watching this but I was so disappointed. It lacked intrigue and it was quite predictable.
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Really liked Ncholas Cage in this movie. I thought he was really funny. Loved all his quirks. Its about a con artist who has a daughter he didn't know about arrive unannounced as he and his partner in crime are in the middle of them pulling off a huge scheme. So like every great… More
Really liked Ncholas Cage in this movie. I thought he was really funny. Loved all his quirks. Its about a con artist who has a daughter he didn't know about arrive unannounced as he and his partner in crime are in the middle of them pulling off a huge scheme. So like every great father out there he makes her part of it. Has a nice twist at the end. I seen it coming. But still was really good.
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An average movie with a handful of enjoyable comic scenes. Tries to be a thriller too with a twist towards the ending specifically, but I think I've seen enough of such stuff which made it pretty easy for me to predict what's gonna be the climax, which was actually supposed… More
An average movie with a handful of enjoyable comic scenes. Tries to be a thriller too with a twist towards the ending specifically, but I think I've seen enough of such stuff which made it pretty easy for me to predict what's gonna be the climax, which was actually supposed to come as a sort of twist. Overall, it's watchable once, just don't expect anything unique and any twist that you can't predict beforehand.
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I rem ember this being pretty good, but it was hard to remember. Obviously it did not impact me that much.
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"You're a con man?
- Con artist. Flim flam man, matchstick man, loser. Whatever. Take your pick."
Ridley Scott delivers one of his best works with this intelligent story about a con man, who's life turns around when he meets his 14 year daughter for the first… More
"You're a con man?
- Con artist. Flim flam man, matchstick man, loser. Whatever. Take your pick."
Ridley Scott delivers one of his best works with this intelligent story about a con man, who's life turns around when he meets his 14 year daughter for the first time. Or does it? Did he?
"Matchstick Men" is a well made comedy and one of Nic Cage's best performances of his career, as an obsessive compulsive man. Sam Rockwell, as his partner in crime, gives us again another funny performance.
The film is a witty and wonderful character study of Cage's character Roy, how his daughter changes his life. It's technically simple, with beautiful camerawork, twists and turns in the stroy and very good acting. Definitely worth the watch.
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This movie totally sucked me in and was very entertaining. I didn't see the end coming.
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I think it's funny I had this rated as "Not Interested", because this was an incredible movie.
Nicolas Cage really deserves praise for pulling off what he does....His performance is just awesome...You have to see it to understand.
I'm always a fan of movies that… More
I think it's funny I had this rated as "Not Interested", because this was an incredible movie.
Nicolas Cage really deserves praise for pulling off what he does....His performance is just awesome...You have to see it to understand.
I'm always a fan of movies that have those "holy-crap-I-can't-believe-that-just-happened" moments, and this doesn't disappoint.....
If you have streaming Netflix, watch this for free now!
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This movie is fucking stupid! Maybe I missed something because I was watching it on basic cable, but it's sad that Ridley Scott always has to shit on films like Black Hawk Down and Gladiator by doing fuckhead movies like this. I would rather sit through National Treasure 2… More
This movie is fucking stupid! Maybe I missed something because I was watching it on basic cable, but it's sad that Ridley Scott always has to shit on films like Black Hawk Down and Gladiator by doing fuckhead movies like this. I would rather sit through National Treasure 2 (again) than have to watch Nic Cage with OCD again. The only redeeming quality is Rockwell who could save Righteous Kill if he had to.
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Matchstick Men is an impressive and entertaining film. This doesn't seem like the type of film Ridley Scott usually makes, but with his name attatched as director, my expectations were high.
Nicolas Cage performs very well as the obsessive compulsive con artist, I thought as an… More
Matchstick Men is an impressive and entertaining film. This doesn't seem like the type of film Ridley Scott usually makes, but with his name attatched as director, my expectations were high.
Nicolas Cage performs very well as the obsessive compulsive con artist, I thought as an actor he seems to be getting worse and just taking the easy blockbuster work, but this is one of those gems that prove his talent has not been lost. Sam Rockwell is brilliant as Cage's protege-partner, he makes sure Cage doesn't scene steal when he's around. Newcomer Alison Lohman also pulls off a convincing performance as Cage's daughter.
Matchstick Men is an underrated film that equally balances comedy with drama and climaxes with a superb and clever twist. Highly recommended.
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When an obsessive compulsive con artist discovers he has a teenage daughter he first bonds with her and then starts to teach her some tricks of the trade. A bit of a departure for Ridley Scott, this is more of a people film than the kind of historical epics he has become associated… More
When an obsessive compulsive con artist discovers he has a teenage daughter he first bonds with her and then starts to teach her some tricks of the trade. A bit of a departure for Ridley Scott, this is more of a people film than the kind of historical epics he has become associated with. An easy going marriage of comedy, heist movie and family drama, Scott handles the shifts in tone with subtlety and never resorts to visual gimmickry. Rockwell and Lohman are solid support and really Cage is the weak link performance wise, as his take on obsessive compulsiveness can hardly be described as subtle although he is decent enough. A little predictable, but it has a couple of nice twists and has the kind of laid back charm that is old fashioned in a good way. Ocean's Eleven on valium.
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Mostly a terrific film. Cage and Lohman are both great to watch, with Rockwell providing solid comedic backup here. Its a clever movie, but its almost a little too clever, I didn't buy every aspect of the end of it, when I was ready to give it a more generous review. Still… More
Mostly a terrific film. Cage and Lohman are both great to watch, with Rockwell providing solid comedic backup here. Its a clever movie, but its almost a little too clever, I didn't buy every aspect of the end of it, when I was ready to give it a more generous review. Still definitely worth a checkout, Lohman's spunky performance alone is worth watching.
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This is now my favorite Nicholas Cage movie. I was expecting the movie to just be about con-men, but it pleasantly surprised me with its character development and subplots that kept me interested and involved with the characters.
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Director Ridley Scott's rather surprising return to somewhat lighter topics of con men and unexpected daughters starts of a little unmotivated but picks up speed once Alison Lohman enters the scene. While she is a tad too old to be playing a 14-year old she actually pulls it off… More
Director Ridley Scott's rather surprising return to somewhat lighter topics of con men and unexpected daughters starts of a little unmotivated but picks up speed once Alison Lohman enters the scene. While she is a tad too old to be playing a 14-year old she actually pulls it off really well and the chemistry with her dad Nic Cage gives the movie a certain charm while they pull off their pretty entertaining cons. That's no earth shattering movie making but not boring for a second either. And the end twist is actually pretty sweet. Worth watching for fans of the genre or the actors.
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suffers mainly in the script department, but the acting is pretty lackluster too
Read all 20 featured audience ratings
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