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Loaded with atmosphere and drenched in the sizzling chemistry between Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin, The Big Easy remains one of the strongest -- and steamiest -- thrillers of the 1980s.
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All Critics (37) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (33) | Rotten (4)
Until conventional plot contrivances begin to spoil the fun, The Big Easy is a snappy, sassy battle of the sexes in the guise of a melodrama about police corruption. July 31, 2013 | Full Review…
Until conventional plot contrivances begin to spoil the fun, The Big Easy is a snappy, sassy battle of the sexes in the guise of a melodrama about police corruption.
Variety Staff
The Big Easy is an extremely enjoyable (and well-lubricated) vehicle for two actors who aren't quite yet stars, but should be. July 31, 2013 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
The Big Easy is an extremely enjoyable (and well-lubricated) vehicle for two actors who aren't quite yet stars, but should be.
Carrie Rickey
The Big Easy is as atmospheric as they come, but -- surprise! -- it's also sharp and swift. Plus, it has ample amounts of chemistry -- the steamy, sexy kind. July 31, 2013 | Full Review…
The Big Easy is as atmospheric as they come, but -- surprise! -- it's also sharp and swift. Plus, it has ample amounts of chemistry -- the steamy, sexy kind.
Jay Boyar
The film's strength is director Jim McBride's seemingly easy way of presenting us with a New Orleans that is more malevolent and intoxicating than the tourist trap that some think it to be. July 31, 2013 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…
The film's strength is director Jim McBride's seemingly easy way of presenting us with a New Orleans that is more malevolent and intoxicating than the tourist trap that some think it to be.
Gene Siskel
It's sleek, briskly paced, firmly controlled and shrewdly dosed with humor, action and romance. July 31, 2013 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
It's sleek, briskly paced, firmly controlled and shrewdly dosed with humor, action and romance.
Dave Kehr
Eventually the film's suspense underpinnings take over its personal story, yet that tension Quaid and Barkin generate still holds. Soldily fine as actors they're also a great pair, like two golden athletes. October 5, 2011 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
Eventually the film's suspense underpinnings take over its personal story, yet that tension Quaid and Barkin generate still holds. Soldily fine as actors they're also a great pair, like two golden athletes.
Sheila Benson
There is nothing easy about its own attitude, which is moral without being censorious.... with actors as engaging as Barkin and Quaid to say nothing of the ever-reliable Beatty the process is a delight to watch. November 15, 2019 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
There is nothing easy about its own attitude, which is moral without being censorious.... with actors as engaging as Barkin and Quaid to say nothing of the ever-reliable Beatty the process is a delight to watch.
Richard Freedman
Barkin brings great delicacy and conviction to a part that is essentially a stock character: that favorite '80s stereotype: the sexually repressed but professionally successful career woman. August 28, 2019 | Full Review…
Barkin brings great delicacy and conviction to a part that is essentially a stock character: that favorite '80s stereotype: the sexually repressed but professionally successful career woman.
Kathi Maio
Set against a Cajun background, the movie is a bird's-eye view of a little-known culture operating within a totally familiar urban context. The effect is exhilarating. October 9, 2016 | Full Review…
Set against a Cajun background, the movie is a bird's-eye view of a little-known culture operating within a totally familiar urban context. The effect is exhilarating.
Cathy Burke
Revels in its slight plot, noirish atmosphere, sassy interplay between main characters and its gumbo-like smells. April 11, 2016 | Rating: B | Full Review…
Revels in its slight plot, noirish atmosphere, sassy interplay between main characters and its gumbo-like smells.
Dennis Schwartz
Quaid, a competent character actor who looks more like a leading man with each new film, has all the prize scenes in The Big Easy and he does the best he can with them. But they all seem to be castoffs from old Richard Gere movies. July 31, 2013 | Full Review…
Quaid, a competent character actor who looks more like a leading man with each new film, has all the prize scenes in The Big Easy and he does the best he can with them. But they all seem to be castoffs from old Richard Gere movies.
Bill Kelley
After watching this sizzling crime thriller, you will be at a loss to explain why director Jim McBride failed to go on and take Hollywood by storm. At least the careers of Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin were boosted. July 31, 2013 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
After watching this sizzling crime thriller, you will be at a loss to explain why director Jim McBride failed to go on and take Hollywood by storm. At least the careers of Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin were boosted.
David Parkinson
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