68
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperChicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperImperium is a well-spun, tight thriller, thanks in no small part to Radcliffe’s excellent, sharply focused performance.
- 80Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinA chilling, surprisingly effective crime thriller.
- 80The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerThe New York TimesNeil GenzlingerNate’s journey is used primarily to show us the variations in extremist groups and how they might accomplish something drastic like set off a dirty bomb; his inner turmoil takes a back seat. The movie works just fine as a straightforward thriller, though.
- 75Slant MagazineOleg IvanovSlant MagazineOleg IvanovIt demonstrates both the fatal proximity and deceptive distance that can exist between the words and deeds of extremists.
- 75The A.V. ClubKatie RifeThe A.V. ClubKatie RifeRadcliffe’s performance also ramps up toward the end of the movie, when the pressures of undercover life and his struggle to empathize with these people — his main asset as an undercover agent — really begin to weigh on him.
- 75Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerThe most interesting character in Imperium is not even Nate. It’s Gerry Conway (Sam Trammell), a seemingly normal family man who reads the great philosophers and loves the music of Brahms and Tchaikovsky, even making an exception for the recordings of Jewish maestro Leonard Bernstein. Terrorists come in all flavors.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckImperium traffics in familiar undercover cop thriller conventions while gaining resonance from its disturbing, timely milieu.
- 70VarietyAndrew BarkerVarietyAndrew BarkerImperium’s depiction of the white-nationalist underground is ultimately background for a straightforward potboiler, and the film is at its best when it stays in that arena.
- 67IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichRadcliffe’s performance ensures that the movie is engaging from start to finish — like Letts, the lynchpin of his portrayal is in the confidence of his voice — but Ragussis is afraid to follow his lead actor down the rabbit hole.
- 58The Film StageJared MobarakThe Film StageJared MobarakJust as things get bumpy and tensions rise, a bow-tied resolution commences, devoid of stakes yet overflowing with heavy-handed message.