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Critics Consensus: Elevated by Fincher's directorial talent and Foster's performance, Panic Room is a well-crafted, above-average thriller.
Critic Consensus: Elevated by Fincher's directorial talent and Foster's performance, Panic Room is a well-crafted, above-average thriller.
All Critics (185) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (139) | Rotten (46) | DVD (21)
A thinking-man's women-in-jeopardy picture, Panic Room does about as much as humanly possible with its deliberately restricted one-setting premise.
Never averse to glistening darkness, meaty metaphor or grandiloquent technical display, Fincher is also surprisingly at home with hokum.
Fincher mounts some clever, tense sequences in which the trio devises increasingly threatening strategies to force Meg and Sarah out of the panic room, only to be matched with improvised ingenuity from behind the vault door.
There's just no denying Fincher's gifts. Give the guy a camera or two or three, millions upon millions of dollars and state-of-the-art technologies, and there's no stopping him.
... one of the most ingenious and entertaining thrillers I've seen in quite a long time.
Foster nails the role, giving a tight, focused performance illuminated by shards of feeling.
Leaving you utterly dissatisfied...
How did Fincher - a director who is very good at supplying thrills to thrillers, whatever his other strengths or limitations might be - end up shepherding such a leaden film?
Extreme suspense, graphic violence; not for kids.
Valuing logic over brutality, David Fincher's claustrophobic ride also touted the real-world practicality of keeping quiet over the cinematic kicks of a loud thriller. It's like "Wait Until Dark" with helplessness that's emotional, not just physical.
Apart from one plot twist too many, "Panic Room" is a seamless suspense-thriller with a top-notch cast.
There are so little things you can do with this story and a lot of it is pretty contrived.
A suspense thriller that dazzles visually but begs one to leave common sense trapped in a steel plated room where no sense can get at it. It's got its moments of tension though.
Super Reviewer
Good suspense
The premise for this film is very simple, which could have made it very one note if not for the direction of David Fincher. Two people staked out in a room, against common criminals out to get their hands on millions, doesn't sound appealing when you realize that most of the action takes place in a small room. Foster and Stewart are exceptional as a mother and daughter team, fighting against Whiter, Yoakam, and Leto's burglars. Each side is very intelligent, Whitaker especially, as he plays an employee of the company that makes the panic rooms. In contrast Foster is a worrisome mother with know-how and a true fighting spirit. Fincher gives some really great long takes and tracking shots of the interior of the house, making it a character rather than a set piece. It's a straight edged thriller all the way through, though some moments, where the action is slowed and we're not sure whether they'll all make it, were heart thumping good.
David Fincher pulls through with another crime thriller in Panic Room.
Considering 99% of the story takes place in an apartment with a panic room, the film holds itself together for its entirety, which is just under 110 minutes. The plot holds a consistent level of intrigue with only 5 characters taking up the majority of screen time.
For an R-rated movie, the amount of violence is held in check; however, when it does occur, it's easy to see why this picture is rated what it is. Watching a young Kristen Stewart drop the F-bomb is also a pleasant surprise.
While Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart get the job done on one side, the combo of Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, and Dwight Yoakam are an amusing trio on the opposite side.
When all the panicking is done, Panic Room ends up a solid sit through.
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