50
The horrors of apartheid deserve a better treatment than this.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
50
Washington Post by Desson Thomson
Director Phillip Noyce has made a serious movie that switches to almost popcorn entertainment.
60
The less rosy message of Catch a Fire is that aggression breeds aggression.
75
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
With the same affinity for stories of culture clash he showed in "The Quiet American" and "Rabbit-Proof Fence," director Phillip Noyce embraces the tale with gusto.
50
The New York Times by Manohla Dargis
It’s a film that wants to play as if it were ripped from today’s headlines, but has been shredded into near incoherence.
67
Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov
It's always odd to see Robbins, a political activist in his own right, playing at villainy, but here he descends into the role so thoroughly that the lopsided smile becomes less a notation of cockeyed boyishness than a treacherous Cheshire smirk.
83
Christian Science Monitor by Peter Rainer
Philip Noyce's anti-apartheid drama is tense and thoughtful, if somewhat marred by Hollywood-style thrills.
60
Stories of resistance to oppression will never become obsolete, but this feels like a picture that should have been made a long time ago.