Retained my interest and sympathy -- at least until the nonsensical ending,
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The New York Times by A.O. Scott
Everything in this film is forgettable, right down to bongos pounding on the soundtrack to indicate a quickening of the pulse.
The director belabors every moment, forgetting that pulp tales need to be told quickly, lest the viewer have time to second-guess.
Despite the heavy-handedness, isn't awful enough to be a hilarious howler. But neither is it good enough to become the tropical noir it could have been.
New York Post by Jonathan Foreman
Even the lovemaking scenes between two of Hollywood's most attractive stars -- often shot from above, like Cinemax soft porn -- are so unerotic, they make your skin crawl.
TV Guide Magazine by Maitland McDonagh
Ridiculous, yes, but in an eminently watchable way. Most of the plot twists work surprisingly well, and the frequently naked leads work up some genuine chemistry.
Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov
It's not nearly as mediocre a two hours as the trailers would have you think.
Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington
Jolie and Banderas are two hot actors, in many senses of the word, and their scenes together have a lewd excitement.
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
Aspires to blasphemy but achieves only banality.
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
The movie is not intended to be subtle. It is sweaty, candle-lit melodrama, joyously trashy, and its photography wallows in sumptuous decadence.