Critic Reviews
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J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
Well-meaning but simpleminded.
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Trevor Johnston, Time Out
Blanchett gets the accent impeccably, and encompasses both the woman's determined heroism and her delight in the picture byline, but neither she nor the screenplay digs any deeper than secular hagiography.
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Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
While I was watching Veronica Guerin, starring Cate Blanchett, I kept imagining the movie it might have been before director Joel Schumacher and producer Jerry Bruckheimer got their hands on it.
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Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
As movie material, Veronica Guerin's life could have benefited from the gutsy probing the woman herself was renowned for.
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Charles Taylor, Salon.com
You don't need subtlety for a movie like this -- which is fortunate considering that Schumacher is the director -- but you need a kind of craft that Schumacher doesn't possess.
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Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
The movie never adequately explains the inner conflicts that led its relentless-reporter heroine to die.
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Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
This is no Erin Brockovich.
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Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Cate Blanchett gives a tour de force performance as Veronica Guerin under Joel Schumacher's direction of a no-nonsense script by Carol Doyle and Mary Agnes Donoghue.
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Philip French, Observer [UK]
Cate Blanchett is a vital presence as Veronica and should have romantic teenagers lining up to get into journalism school.
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Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...a respectful quasi-documentary
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Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
Blanchett nearly saves it, but it's too much a plastic-Jesus biopic.
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Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
Wrapping up the disc is an interesting comparison: Cate Blanchett playing Veronica Guerin speaking at a meeting, and then the real Veronica Guerin speaking to that meeting.
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Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
While this is a movie that deserves a mildly favourable recommendation, it's also nothing short of a catastrophic fumble and an incredible lost opportunity.
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Damon Wise, Empire Magazine
A moving but gritty story of willpower and sacrifice that stops pleasingly short of a Hollywood varnish-job.
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Wesley Lovell, Cinema Sight
If you take out Cate Blanchett's amazing performance, you're left with a dull husk of a film from a director who knows little about filmmaking.
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Chris Barsanti, Filmcritic.com
Cate Blanchett is most likely the greatest actress working in film today.
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Boyd van Hoeij, european-films.net
Sporting a perfect Irish accent, [Cate Blanchett] imbues the character with a lot more presence than the script (and the director?) called for.
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Jordan Hiller, Bangitout.com
Guerin has the outward appearance of a quaint but brutal Irish gem like the works of Jim Sheridan and Neil Jordan, but looks are deceiving
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Martin Scribbs, Low IQ Canadian
Veronica Guerin is a sharp study of the vices that sometimes goad us to virtue.
Read all 19 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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As a slice of Irish history (the 1990's) this star vehicle is invaluable, swapping the quaint and rustic land o'leprechans movie Ireland usually seen for a truer portrait, peopled by normal modern folk. But, they've left out why anyone would make the sacrifices this… More
As a slice of Irish history (the 1990's) this star vehicle is invaluable, swapping the quaint and rustic land o'leprechans movie Ireland usually seen for a truer portrait, peopled by normal modern folk. But, they've left out why anyone would make the sacrifices this woman made, leaving a too slick biopic instead. Blanchett delivers nonetheless.
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Powerful stuff based on true story of a brave lady journalist. Very much watchable.
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Aside from the state of Dublin that is shown at the begining of this film, there were no real surprises here for me.
Though a bit predictable at times, it is still a good film.
As sad as it is to say, it is people like Veronica Guerin (who do the right thing to spite the risks… More
Aside from the state of Dublin that is shown at the begining of this film, there were no real surprises here for me.
Though a bit predictable at times, it is still a good film.
As sad as it is to say, it is people like Veronica Guerin (who do the right thing to spite the risks involved) that keep us progressing as a society.
Their stories must be told to remind us that unless we fight for what is right, we will remain bogged down in everything that is wrong.
I consider myself a huge Cate Blanchett fan, but I have to say her "Irish" accent here was a bit dodgy at times, but the performance was otherwise a very powerful one.
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A grand film all around for the actors and the script. Cate Blanchett shines as the fact based story of a very outspoken and hardworknig Irish woman. Many things come at a cost being threatened is just the beginning. The very talened Brenda Fricker co-stars along with Colin Farrell.
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Another stunning performance by Cate Blanchett and a great supporting cast.
A very powerful story based upon the true life of Veronica Guerrin, a journalist from Ireland who's career and search for the truth comes at a high price, amid the drug pushers and criminals.
Some… More
Another stunning performance by Cate Blanchett and a great supporting cast.
A very powerful story based upon the true life of Veronica Guerrin, a journalist from Ireland who's career and search for the truth comes at a high price, amid the drug pushers and criminals.
Some very realistic violence used in a few of the scenes.
Cate Blanchett surely does seem to be able to turn her hand to anything and any accent.
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Why has no one seen this?
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I must admit, my expectations of this took a lurch when I saw the names of Jerry Bruckheimer and Joel Schumacher on the credits. I can't quite see what attracted those two to a project better suited to one of those cheap but worthy Channel Four Film productions, but Cate… More
I must admit, my expectations of this took a lurch when I saw the names of Jerry Bruckheimer and Joel Schumacher on the credits. I can't quite see what attracted those two to a project better suited to one of those cheap but worthy Channel Four Film productions, but Cate Blanchett makes the most of an opportunity to demonstrate her versatility. The film is well acted, respectable but underwhelming. Still, it's the closest I've come to liking a Joel Schumacher movie to date.
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Based on a true story of Dublin journalist Veronica Guerin whose exposes of drug dealers cost her her life is an extraordinary and a very perceptive work.
Not in a long time have I seen an exceptional acting, writing and storytelling all at once. It's a tragic film, but I… More
Based on a true story of Dublin journalist Veronica Guerin whose exposes of drug dealers cost her her life is an extraordinary and a very perceptive work.
Not in a long time have I seen an exceptional acting, writing and storytelling all at once. It's a tragic film, but I love the story and the characters, and I don't feel that a review can do to this film justice. The fact that Guerin is in a hostile land, a country that is defined by the needs and desires of men, at the cost of a woman.
It's a suspense-filled and thrilling story that will have you on the edge of your seat.What?s almost most fascinating about this character, and the way she?s portrayed by the film, is that in any other (fictional) movie, Guerin would be a man.
My dear Cate Blanchett gives something special and even magical performance once again.
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Fine Blanchett performance can't topple Schumacher's heavy-handed direction.
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Cate Blanchett's top tour de force to date, completely convincing as intrepid journalist who gave her life in pursuit of a story she felt compelled to expose (the rampant Dublin drug scene) but everyone around her tried to discourage. Joel Schumacher pulls a "where'd… More
Cate Blanchett's top tour de force to date, completely convincing as intrepid journalist who gave her life in pursuit of a story she felt compelled to expose (the rampant Dublin drug scene) but everyone around her tried to discourage. Joel Schumacher pulls a "where'd that come from??" effort behind the camera crafting a gripping movie experience without pandering to the audience nor putting its heroine on a pedestal. That's thanks in large part to Blanchett who infuses Veronica with nuances and faults that give us a three-dimensional picture - she's beyond Oscar-worthy here, she was Oscar-deserving.
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`Veronica Geurin' is a powerful, rousing fast-based story that leaves an unsurprisingly bad taste. Cate Blanchett is simply outstanding in her role.
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Cate Blanchette is a reporter who will do whatever she has to get the story she needs.
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I always thought that Ireland was the place of leprechauns, four-leaf clovers, and The Corrs. Who knew it had such a dark side? Once again, Crazy Cate manages to transform herself entirely, this time in the title role of Veronica Guerin. Her performance was excellent, the film was… More
I always thought that Ireland was the place of leprechauns, four-leaf clovers, and The Corrs. Who knew it had such a dark side? Once again, Crazy Cate manages to transform herself entirely, this time in the title role of Veronica Guerin. Her performance was excellent, the film was well-paced, and the music was perfect. But what got to me, was the real story itself. I applaud Veronica's determination and courage, but ultimately, I think she was a little foolish (ooohhh....controversial!). But seriously, the sense I got from the film was that not only did she want to spill the beans on the massive drug trade, she also wanted the glory of doing it. Perhaps if she had have gone about her work in a less forthright way, she may not have lost her life. What is also infuriatng is the fact that she literally had to die before the courts would do anything to change the laws, which, frankly, is insane.
Read all 14 featured audience ratings
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