81
Metascore
23 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanPolice, Adjective is a deadly serious as well as dryly humorous analysis of bureaucratic procedure and, particularly, the tyranny of language. Images may record reality, but words define it.
- 100VarietyVarietyPorumboiu is one of the few helmers working today who so completely understands both the power of language and the power of visuals.
- 100Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsChicago TribuneMichael PhillipsIt's not for all tastes; it requires some patience. The more your own job involves absurd, time-consuming bits of minutiae, the more familiar (and amusing) it'll seem.
- 83The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasA clever, exceedingly wonky procedural about a undercover cop (Dragos Bucur) who quietly refuses to do what he's told.
- 80Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesChicago ReaderJ.R. JonesThe climax, in which the detective's commanding officer gives him a dictionary and subjects him to a sort of linguistic browbeating, is a marvel of dead air and unspoken oppression.
- 80Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranPolice, Adjective may not be the film you're expecting, but it's one that will stay on your mind.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertIts surprisingly effective key scene involves an argument with his captain over the dictionary definitions of the words "conscience" and "justice." This may not sound exciting, but it was welcome after legions of cop movies in which such arguments are orchestrated with the f-word.
- 75NPRMark JenkinsNPRMark JenkinsPolice, Adjective has considerable power, and the issues it raises linger in the mind.
- 50Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternThe movie comes on like a put-on--next to nothing happens for an excruciatingly long time--and ends as a fascinating dialectic between following one's conscience or following the law.
- 40Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfShockingly dull.