Critics Consensus

Critics Consensus: Out of the Furnace is Tough but Uneven

Plus, Inside Llewyn Davis is Certified Fresh.

by | December 5, 2013 | Comments

This week at the movies, we’ve got just one wide release: Out of the Furnace, a blue-collar crime thriller starring Christian Bale and Woody Harrelson. What do the critics have to say?

Out of the Furnace

53%

Gritty, moody, and populated by a cast of A-listers, Out of the Furnace promises a higher class of pulp than your average vengeance thriller. But critics say that while the actors imbue their characters with heft, they’re stuck with an uneven script that serves up many fine moments but fails to fully cohere. Bale stars as Russell, a steel worker whose brother Rodney (Casey Affleck) has just come home from Iraq. But when Rodney disappears after falling in with a local criminal organization, Russell goes looking for him — a search that leads him to Harlan (Woody Harrelson), the gang’s brutal ringleader. The pundits say that Out of the Furnace is raw and atmospheric, but it’s inconsistently paced and occasionally melodramatic. (Check out this week’s Total Recall, in which we count down Bale’s best-reviewed films.)

Also opening this week in limited release: