Chicago Tribune by Michael Phillips

For all its cynicism, the movie floats on a darkly exhilarating brand of escapism. It’s one of the year’s highlights in any genre.

RogerEbert.com by Brian Tallerico

McQueen’s masterful film is the kind that works on multiple levels simultaneously—as pure pulp entertainment but also as a commentary on how often it feels like we have to take what we are owed or risk never getting it at all.

Chicago Sun-Times by Richard Roeper

As always, Steve McQueen is an original and bold storyteller, delivering the goods with dazzling creativity. Even when “Widows” delves into pulpy, blood-soaked material, everything is filtered through the lens of a true artist. This is one of the best movies of the year.

The Observer (UK) by Mark Kermode

Widows is a sinewy treat that seamlessly intertwines close-up character studies, big-picture politics and audaciously reimagined heist-movie riffs.

Total Film by Kate Stables

A heist movie with serious bite, Widows is both brilliantly tense and strikingly relevant.

Film Threat by Malik Adan

The film is a brisk, engrossing narrative that weaves this story with engaging dialogue, incredible one-liners, and the kind of slow burn that any good neo-noir film should have. But what makes Widows so unbelievable is its trust in its players, the viewer’s intelligence and savviness, and a bevy of technical moments.

The Telegraph by Tim Robey

Dramatic fragments, blasted our way, dance before us for the next two hours, rotating and glinting, colliding and connecting, like a puzzle in zero gravity. As a transition into flinty, supercharged genre filmmaking, it gets by on no more than electric confidence, high-fiving technical virtuosity, and a cast to die for. It’s very satisfying.

Time Out by Joshua Rothkopf

It’s a lot of plot for one sitting, but Widows will remind you of how massively entertaining crime movies can be, especially when they’re animated by the spirit of cool-headed capability, on and offscreen.

CineVue by Christopher Machell

Genre film or not, Davis’ depiction of profound grief is tremendously effective, elicited by McQueen’s audacious direction.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Barry Hertz

Led by a magnificent Viola Davis, the cast is ridiculously stacked. The action is tremendous. And the ultimate message – that nothing comes for free in America – is devastating in its swift brutality.

Consequence by Sarah Kurchak

It’s all deliciously fun and deliriously devious, but Widows isn’t just an exercise in sheer escapism.

Consequence of Sound by Sarah Kurchak

It’s all deliciously fun and deliriously devious, but Widows isn’t just an exercise in sheer escapism.

IndieWire by Eric Kohn

Ultimately, Widows works as well as it does due to the way McQueen juggles substance with entertainment value to such eager subversive ends. The movie engages with topics as complex as sexism, police brutality, and interracial marriage, but it still delivers on the car chases and gunplay.

Screen Daily by Fionnuala Halligan

The distinguishing, and perhaps unsurprising element - given McQueen’s strong characterisation in the past – is that each of the film’s many characters comes fully-formed.

Screen International by Fionnuala Halligan

The distinguishing, and perhaps unsurprising element - given McQueen’s strong characterisation in the past – is that each of the film’s many characters comes fully-formed.

The Hollywood Reporter by Todd McCarthy

Widows is a solid piece of genre fiction made more resonant by how its creators have bored down into its characters and sociological implications in ways specifically designed to examine some of the rotten underpinnings of business as usual.

The Film Stage by Christopher Schobert

This is precision entertainment, a crackling, pulse-pounding heist movie with a sterling cast, a whip-smart script, and undeniable social resonance, calling to mind heavyweight champs like The French Connection and Heat. It never quite matches those cinema milestones, but make no mistake, Widows is a knockout.

ScreenCrush by E. Oliver Whitney

Though Widows isn’t as exceptional as McQueen’s previous work, his style elevates it well beyond any generic big studio genre film. It’s a first-rate popcorn thriller that dazzles you and gives you something thoughtful and timely to chew on.

The Guardian by Benjamin Lee

There are so many characters at play here and McQueen and Flynn’s script manages to let them all breathe, giving each actor small defining moments and given the exceptional cast involved, it makes for a richly rewarding experience.

Slant Magazine by Jake Cole

For all its flaws, Widows is McQueen’s most fascinating, bracing feature to date, a demonstration of the filmmaker embracing his commercial instincts instead of trying to pass them off as weighty and important.

The Playlist by Jason Bailey

Widows is definitely a good film and one that often has greatness in its grasp. But it often feels like, at some point in the process, McQueen needed to decide if he was making wallpaper or art.

Variety by Owen Gleiberman

Widows, while a highly original and entertaining variation on the heist film, isn’t a home run.