A Perfect Murder: Critic Reviews

You don't have to believe a word of the strained dialogue in A Perfect Murder to be seduced by the movie's chilly high-gloss ambiance and its skillfully plotted update of Frederick Knott's play...

His [Davis] direction is swift and very effective, and the movie, shot in shades of ebony (the color of black marble), looks exceptionally handsome.

I think it works like a nasty little machine to keep us involved and disturbed; my attention never strayed, and one of the elements I liked was the way Paltrow's character isn't sentimentalized.

...a fast-paced thriller that probably will leave Alfred Hitchcock aficionados mourning its shallowness -- but not until after they've enjoyed an adrenaline rush.

Loaded with dramatic irony in the first half and with tension in the second, the film gives Douglas another chance to do his slick, sinister best; Paltrow a chance to extend her emotional range; and Mortensen a chance to play the chameleon.

None of the amusement gained in watching the performances, unfortunately, amounts to much, as the script, in a desperate attempt to lend action interest to the original, static, puzzle plot, compounds surprise turn after surprise turn.

...snoozy, slack...

...A Perfect Murder has inexplicably managed to eliminate almost everything that was worthwhile about Dial M for Murder, leaving behind the nearly-unwatchable wreckage of a would-be '90s thriller.

What the film lacks is suspense, surprise (the new ending is a dud) and passion.

A Perfect Murder begins better than it ends, and the pleasures it offers turn out to be more of a transitory nature.

slick and twisted tale provides two delicious hours of intrigue and mystery, along with some unexpected wit and black comedy...

...the film is so lacking in anything original that it is hardly worth recommending.

...simpers along with relatively little suspense or thrills...

A resolucao nao faz jus as duas primeiras horas de projecao.

As is the case with too many remakes, the slick new take falls short.