RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / In Bruges
In Bruges

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

In Bruges (2008)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
80 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:151

Fresh:121

Rotten:30

Average Rating:7/10

Consensus: Featuring witty dialogue and deft performances In Bruges is an effective mix of dark comedy and crime thriller elements.

Rated: 18 [See Full Rating] for strong bloody violence, pervasive language and some drug use.

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:07-03-2008

Synopsis: Mr. McDonagh makes his feature directorial debut on the film, from his own original screenplay. His plays (which include The Lieutenant of Inishmore and The Pillowman) have brought him two... Mr. McDonagh makes his feature directorial debut on the film, from his own original screenplay. His plays (which include The Lieutenant of Inishmore and The Pillowman) have brought him two Olivier Awards and four Tony Award nominations. He wrote and directed Six Shooter, starring Brendan Gleeson, which earned him the 2006 Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short Film. In Bruges was filmed on location; Bruges (pronounced "broozh"), the most well-preserved medieval city in the whole of Belgium, is a welcoming destination for travelers from all over the world. But for hit men Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), it could be their final destination; a difficult job has resulted in the pair being ordered right before Christmas by their London boss Harry (two-time Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) to go and cool their heels in the storybook Flemish city for a couple of weeks. Very much out of place amidst the gothic architecture, canals, and cobbled streets, the two hit men fill their days living the lives of tourists. Ray, still haunted by the bloodshed in London, hates the place, while Ken, even as he keeps a fatherly eye on Ray's often profanely funny exploits, finds his mind and soul being expanded by the beauty and serenity of the city. But the longer they stay waiting for Harry's call, the more surreal their experience becomes, as they find themselves in weird encounters with locals, tourists, violent medieval art, a dwarf American actor (Jordan Prentice) shooting a European art film, Dutch prostitutes, and a potential romance for Ray in the form of Chloë (Clémence Poésy), who may have some dark secrets of her own. And when the call from Harry does finally come, Ken and Ray's vacation becomes a life-and-death struggle of darkly comic proportions and surprisingly emotional consequences. --© Focus Features [More]

Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clemence Poesy

Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clemence Poesy, Jordan Prentice, Jérémie Rénier

Director: Martin McDonagh

Director: Martin McDonagh
Screenwriter: Martin McDonagh
Producer: Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin
Composer: Carter Burwell
Studio: Focus Features

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Trailer
    >
    Ray Meets Chloe
    >
    Shootout
    >
    A Must See
    >
  • Culture and Fun
    >
    Ken Meets Dwarf
    >
    A Matter of Honor
    >
1 - 4 of 7

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for In Bruges

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Playwright Martin McDonagh's debut feature of his own script shows still-tentative cinematic skills, yet his flair for dialogue and inanity delivers the laughs as the bodies hit the cobblestones.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/18/08
David D'Arcy
David D'Arcy
Screen International

Farrell has brought his A-game to this cracking little comedy-noir written and directed by Martin McDonagh. He is absolutely superb.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
04/18/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A wonderfully absurd film. McDonagh is never stuck for a brilliant kiss-off line. I doubt he’ll ever be stuck for an audience either.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
04/18/08
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's like prime era Mamet with relentless, unstoppable super-profane dialogue!

Full Review Source: Little White Lies | comment Comment
04/18/08
Kevin Maher
Kevin Maher
Little White Lies

A double-act with depth, the cast of In Bruges seize upon an invigorating script and defy expectations.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
04/18/08
Holly Grigg-Spall
Holly Grigg-Spall
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ralph Fiennes is no Sexy Beast and writer/director Martin McDonagh is stronger on dialogue than story, but this is still a laugh-out-loud dark comedy, giving Colin Farrell his finest role in ages.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
04/18/08
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
Total Film

Colin Farrell raises eyebrows, belly laughs and sympathy in Martin McDonagh's debut feature.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/18/08
Tae Mawson
Tae Mawson
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A morality tale with a distictly Coen-ish air, making excellent, occasionally surreal, use of a great location and lacing the comedy with bloody unpleasantness. It even has a quirky score by Coen collaborator Carter Burwell.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
04/18/08
Elliott Noble
Elliott Noble
Sky Movies

Its mock-artistic thriller trappings notwithstanding, ‘In Bruges’ is basically a funny, tragicomic two-hander, with the casting of Farrell alongside Gleeson enabling a pleasing Irish inflection.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
04/18/08
Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

With In Bruges, the British gangster movie gets a Croydon facelift. It may not be new, but it’s a wonderfully fresh take on a familiar genre: fucked-up, far-out and very, very funny.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/18/08
Damon Wise
Damon Wise
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Hugely enjoyable, frequently hilarious comedy-thriller with a superb script and terrific performances from Gleeson and Farrell.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
04/17/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

An entertaining blend of dark comedy, gruesome suspense and tender emotion

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
02/11/08
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

No chit-chat passes by without an ornate bit of would-be profane drollery

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
08/27/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Carolyn Clay
Carolyn Clay
Boston Phoenix

Entre la comedia negra y la tragedia sangrienta, una película inusual y con ciertos rasgos de originalidad no apta para todos los estómagos o sensibilidades.

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
03/16/09
Enrique Buchichio
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total

An intriguing mix of situational humor and existential dread, a balancing act of light and dark, memorably executed.

Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
01/13/09
Jeffrey Chen
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
10/18/08
Bob Mondello
Bob Mondello
NPR.org

In Bruges is funny and flashy, but as it ends you know you've been laughing because it truly hurts, and every flare and flash of the talking and the killing have left something much more subtle burned into your brain.

Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
10/18/08
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Cinematical

Maybe it's just that the cycle of hitman film escapades is played out for the time being, but In Bruges might have been better off using a silencer.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/18/08
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

All in all an excellent film from a filmmaker with a promising future.

Full Review Source: Mike Bracken's Horror Films | comment Comment
10/18/08
Mike Bracken
Mike Bracken
Mike Bracken's Horror Films
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
all

Latest News for In Bruges

December 14, 2008: Boston Film Critics Honor Slumdog, WALL-E
The hardware won't be handed out until February 8, but the winners of this year's Boston Society of Film Critics Awards have been announced -- and they're all listed right here. More...

December 11, 2008: Golden Globe Nominations Announced
"Benjamin Button," "Frost/Nixon," "The Reader," "Revolutionary Road" and "Slumdog Millionaire" battle it out for Best Drama while "Burn After Reading," "Happy-Go-Lucky," "In... More...

November 07, 2008: UK Critics Consensus: Was W. Wicked? Is Pride & Glory Proud and Glorious?
This week in the UK cinemas we have Oliver Stones latest presidential dissection, the George W. Bush biopic W. with Josh Brolin in the title role. Also out is Pride & Glory, a... More...

August 15, 2008: Movie Spots: Brooding, tense, allegorical, quirky, tragic and unbelievably funny, In Bruges may be the most intelligent, introspective and bizarre gangster thriller in quite some time, perhaps ever. Opens in new window
More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…
19% 19% Transformers: Revenge …
55% 55% Orphan

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
98% 98% Up
88% 88% Ballast
66% 66% The Merry Gentleman

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia

Your first look at the swashbuckler.

Vampires

Vampires

We rank cinema's bloodsuckers.

Avatar

Avatar

The full trailer for Cameron's epic.

2012

2012

12 facts about Emmerich's disaster flick.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Rachel McAdams Reads for Spider-Man 4
108
  • Rachel McAdams Rumored for Spider-Man 4 Source: Mania.com
162
  • Danny Elfman Leaves The Wolfman Source: Cinemusic.net
29
  • Oldboy Remake Rumored Dead Source: Latino Review
20
  • Francis Lawrence Directing a Futuristic Sgt. Rock Source: Hollywood Reporter
3
  • Can Avatar Make Money? Source: New York Times
121
  • Robert Pattinson Says Breaking Dawn Could Roll in Fall 2010 Source: Collider.com
38
  • Joe Johnston Talks The Wolfman Source: Ain't It Cool News
8
  • Jason Schwartzman Talks Scott Pilgrim Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Abrams eyes Micronauts, Aykroyd as Yogi Bear
102
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: John Cusack's Best Movies
93
  • Five Favorite Films with Roland Emmerich
77
  • Critics Consensus: 2012 Isn't Quite Earth-Shaking
43
  • Weekly Ketchup: Rachel McAdams Reads for Spider-Man 4
36
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Christmas Carol Tops, Precious Rocks
34
  • Five Favourite Films with Ang Lee
29
  • 10 Movies That Changed The (End Of The) World
28
  • Friday Harvest: Clash of the Titans, Kick-Ass, and more!
22
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
4
  • RT's Holiday Movie Preview -- Find Out What's Hot This Season!
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
4
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
15
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
  • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
40
  • Michael Moore: The RT Interview
139
  • Andrea Arnold talks Fish Tank - RT Interview
4
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • In Bruges at Rotten Tomatoes
  • In Bruges at IGN
  • In Bruges at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.