Metacritic reviews

A movie bull's-eye: noir with an attitude, a thriller packing punches. It gives up its evil secrets with a smile.

A juicy noir stew of amorality that's the best thing since "Chinatown."

A tough, gorgeous, vastly entertaining throwback to the Hollywood that did things right. As such, it enthusiastically breaks most rules of studio filmmaking today.

An irresistible treat with enough narrative twists and memorable characters for a half-dozen films.

L.A. Confidential, with an exceptional ensemble cast directed by Curtis Hanson from James Ellroy's densely plotted novel, looks to be the definitive noir for this particular time and place.

See L.A. Confidential. Be astonished at discovering anew how very, very satisfying movies can still be. And how fine that can feel.

Once L.A. Confidential gets rolling, it hits with power, stunning in its sweep and surprising with its plot twists.

L.A. Confidential is at the same time his (Hanson) most personal movie and Hollywood filmmaking at its best.

This sleek adaptation of James Ellroy's dauntingly complex novel has the black-and-white tabloid soul of an old "Confidential" magazine.

A glamorous, alluring entertainment that revels in the artifice of Hollywood while exposing its corrupt heart, L.A. Confidential pays stylish homage to some of the great film noirs of the distant and recent past.