25
Metascore
10 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 50The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenRatcheting up Eddie’s malevolence in ways large and small, Cage delivers the latest installment in his singularly unfettered brand of over-the-top screen madness.
- 50The Film StageThe Film StageIn light of how riveting Cage is in this film, it is a shame that he doesn’t appear more. Though he is far and away the best part about Arsenal.
- 42The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerThe A.V. ClubJesse HassengerAnything legitimately affecting about the movie bleeds out, and Cage delivering a blood-soaked monologue or simulating the sound of a burned esophagus isn’t enough on its own to turn Arsenal into the gory, borderline rococo thriller it starts aiming for around the halfway mark. It’s the rare case of a bonkers Cage performance counting as too little, too late.
- 40The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisDespite solid acting (including John Cusack as a plainclothes detective), Arsenal is hobbled mainly by its director’s histrionic tendencies.
- 30Village VoiceMichael NordineVillage VoiceMichael NordineThe main enticement is getting to see Cage go full bore. And he does, gesticulating wildly and assuming an unplaceable accent, but as the only combustible element in this otherwise lackadaisical film, his energy ends up bouncing around with nowhere to go.
- 30VarietyJoe LeydonVarietyJoe LeydonArsenal, a pulpy crime drama about desperate characters and excessive carnage in Biloxi, Miss., is memorable primarily for some random scraps of loopy dialogue, the credible evocation of a sleazy demimonde rife with white-trash lawbreakers, and yet another Nicolas Cage performance that could be labeled Swift’s Premium and sold by the pound.
- 25Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperChicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperArsenal is garbage. The cast includes familiar faces...but it’s still a trashy, blood-spattered, sadistic thriller with a goes-nowhere plot, overwrought dialogue and a throbbing soundtrack that’ll leave your ears ringing.
- 25RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsRogerEbert.comSimon AbramsWhen Cage works with a less decisive director—or just one that's content to let Cage do whatever he wants—he seems to forget what acting is and desperately bellows for attention, like a neophyte actor whose intensity is his fallback pose.
- 12Slant MagazineEd GonzalezSlant MagazineEd GonzalezIt's a misnomer to label the climax of Steven C. Miller's patently sick Arsenal an actual climax.
- 10Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenLos Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenDespite attracting some top-drawer talent, “Arsenal” is a brutally unpleasant, bottom-of-the-barrel crime drama that unsuccessfully attempts to drown the terrible dialogue and pedestrian direction with buckets of gushing blood.