67
A couple of shootouts and chases are impressive, giving the film a little bit of momentum it sorely lacks, but it’s heartbreaking that ultimately the film doesn’t work.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
60
Los Angeles Times by Gary Goldstein
There's a heft to the proceedings that keeps us invested even when the story's various strands start to unravel.
58
The A.V. Club by Jesse Hassenger
With his English-language debut, Blood Ties, Canet takes on material of even less interest to today’s big studios, constructing something much more ambitious than a straight thriller — a sprawling familial crime drama, heavier on relationships than chases or shoot-outs.
20
New York Daily News by Joe Neumaier
Fine actors are let down by a comatose script and wayward direction in this retro crime drama.
60
The Dissolve by Jordan Hoffman
This isn’t a movie so much as a fetishist’s fever dream—a fantasia of New York crime movies from the 1970s that places the specificity of its time and place at center stage more than any actual New York crime movie from the era.
75
Portland Oregonian by Marc Mohan
Blood Ties not only convincingly recreates its era, it seems like it could have been made then.
50
McClatchy-Tribune News Service by Roger Moore
Among the cast, the Oscar winner Cotillard acquits herself the best, bleary-eyed and bitter.
30
The tension rarely rises above a low boil.
30
The Hollywood Reporter by Todd McCarthy
The ‘70s recreation is reasonable -- there are plenty of vintage cars and pop tunes of the moment -- but the characters never register beyond the surfaces of the scenes despite being equipped with long-festering resentments and grudges.
60
This hoary, hackneyed old cop-opera...is served with such relish that the fun proves infectious.