65
Metascore
32 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Film ThreatBobby LePireFilm ThreatBobby LePireThe Art Of Self Defense is set in a very peculiar world populated by eccentric characters. While that might turn some off, due to the vision of director Riley Stearns and his incredible production team, as well as a top-notch cast, the movie is as hilarious as it is unpredictable. It emerges as a strong early contender for best film of the year.
- 90VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeThis singular black comedy balances off-kilter humor with an unexpectedly thriller-esque undercurrent, to the extent that audiences will find it tough to anticipate either the jokes or the dark, “Fight Club”-like turn things eventually take — all to strikingly original effect.
- 83ConsequenceRandall ColburnConsequenceRandall ColburnA singular work, brimming with ideas, by a budding visionary with a hell of a lot to say.
- 83The Film StageJohn FinkThe Film StageJohn FinkWhen the film works it veers into the domain of the uncomfortably hilarious as the maladjusted becomes a malcontent without a choice.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSan Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleWritten and directed by Riley Stearns, The Art of Self-Defense brings out a particularly skillful performance from Eisenberg, whose job is to harmonize the film’s odd shifts in tone and make something real and heartfelt of the central character’s journey.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeWhile the beats of its plot may be nothing very new, the tone, language and performances here make Self-Defense its own beast.
- 67The PlaylistRyan OliverThe PlaylistRyan OliverWhile slight, yet accurate in his thesis, Stearns does what any good filmmaker should do to make that message stick: he makes us laugh.
- 67The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerThe A.V. ClubJesse HassengerIn a movie that often observes male dysfunction with some ironic distance, Eisenberg brings the satire closer to the bone.
- 50New York PostJohnny OleksinskiNew York PostJohnny OleksinskiDirector and writer Riley Stearns’ mediocre comedy aims to be a roundhouse kick at traditional masculinity, but doesn’t manage to take it down in any deep or insightful way.