Entertainment Weekly by Chris Nashawaty

The only one having any fun in this dead-on-arrival noir is Robert De Niro.

The Dissolve by Jen Chaney

The Bag Man is always teetering on the edge of amateurish absurdity, before being tugged back from the edge by its actors.

Slant Magazine by Chuck Bowen

The premise might make sense, if only hypocritically, but the film abandons this already flimsy parody of macho pride disastrously at the last minute.

Los Angeles Times by Betsy Sharkey

It is the most nonsensical crime caper to make it on screen in a while.

Village Voice by Nick Schager

The trouble is that Grovic's attempts to generate suspense by keeping character identities and motivations unknown leaves the proceedings feeling vague and slapdash.

The New York Times by Stephen Holden

At least Mr. De Niro, who disappears from the movie until the end, seems to be enjoying himself. The force of his bonhomie gives this murky-looking, empty conceit of a film a desperately needed lift of facetious humor.

The A.V. Club by Mike D'Angelo

The Bag Man plays like a film from the years right after "Pulp Fiction," when the indie market was suddenly flooded with quips, guns, and hollow affectation.

New York Post by Sara Stewart

This blathery, misogynist indie from first-time director David Grovic — which seems to be aiming for “Pulp Fiction” territory with its blend of crime, banter and the mysterious contents of a bag — falls far short, rife as it is with noir and gender clichés.

Observer by Rex Reed

It takes just under two hours of tedium before you find out what’s in the bag, and you might be sorry you waited.

New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman

So do the minutes. They stretch on as one tiresomely quirky sadist after another appears. Cusack is typically likable and De Niro is amusing in his brief scenes. But unlike Jack, you’re too smart to make big sacrifices for so little return.