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U-Turn

R 1997 2h 5m Crime Drama Mystery & Thriller List
59% Tomatometer 54 Reviews 63% Audience Score 25,000+ Ratings
A two-bit criminal (Sean Penn) meets an attractive woman (Jennifer Lopez) and her spouse (Nick Nolte), each of whom wants him to murder the other. Read More Read Less
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U-Turn

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U-Turn

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Critics Consensus

U-Turn is a lurid, stylish lark that boasts striking moments but lacks the focus and weight of Oliver Stone best work.

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Critics Reviews

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Martin Hoyle Financial Times This is a knowing, sophisticate's view of film noir: mannered, heartless, kitsch. Jan 20, 2023 Full Review Geoff Brown Times (UK) In essence this is potboiler stuff. But it is a positive relief to find the director of Natural Born Killers in holiday mood. Jan 20, 2023 Full Review Richard Williams Guardian Those who have learnt to distrust this director will hardly be surprised to learn that here is a film giving murder a bad name. Jan 20, 2023 Full Review Michael Dwyer Irish Times The more outsized the performances the more fun the film, and while Penn is refreshingly less mannered than usual, it's the scenery-chewers who carry the picture. Jan 24, 2023 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews Filmmaker Oliver Stone has infused U Turn with exactly the sort of over-the-top, less-than-subtle vibe one might've anticipated... Rated: 3/4 Apr 11, 2020 Full Review Matt Brunson Creative Loafing With the exception of 1988's lacerating Talk Radio, U Turn might be the most forgotten film in Oliver Stone's canon -- a shame, since it offers sinful pleasures for those willing to take the ride. Rated: 3/4 Apr 8, 2015 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Ted B Like some sort of mentally deranged chupacabra having a feast in a deli.. the score makes a mockery of what is already badly overcooked ham. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 07/28/23 Full Review macattack1717 Soooo good! Billy Bob is the man Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/16/23 Full Review Eric G One of my favorite films of all time. Great plot, great cast, great cinematography and funny lines. The only negative I can say is that someone pointed out to me that people don't talk with a southern accent in Arizona. Not sure whether or not that's true, but if it is you have one moment of suspended disbelief. No big deal. See this movie!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/30/23 Full Review Lance U A bloody good time! Director Oliver Stone's U-TURN (1997) chews you up, then spits you back out. A great Noir film from one of cinema's greatest filmmakers. A- Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/11/23 Full Review Audience Member A really good film wrapped up in a crazy acid trip of with oliver stones flair, wit and good direction to keep the film going. You probably haven't seen a movie like this before minus natural born killers. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Bobby Cooper (Sean Penn) is a drifter in debt to a violent gangster when his car breaks down in Superior, Arizona. Stranded and broke, he meets Jake (Nick Nolte) and Grace McKenna (Jennifer Lopez), a father and daughter who are also a married couple. They separately approach Bobby to kill the other for money... Reaction by critics to the film was mixed. Roger Ebert gave the film 1½ stars out of four, deeming it a "repetitive, pointless exercise in genre filmmaking—the kind of film where you distract yourself by making a list of the sources". James Berardinelli rated the film three stars out of four, stating "for those who enjoy movies on the edge, U-Turn offers just the trajectory you might expect." Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that it "demonstrates a filmmaker in complete command of his craft and with little control over his impulses". Rotten Tomatoes consensus reads: "U-Turn is a lurid, stylish lark that boasts striking moments but lacks the focus and weight of Oliver Stone's best work." The film was nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards: Worst Director (which went to Kevin Costner for The Postman) and Worst Supporting Actor (Jon Voight, also for Most Wanted; ultimately, he "lost" to Dennis Rodman for Double Team). It was also included on Siskel and Ebert's "Worst Films of 1997" episode. In the episode, Gene Siskel reflected that "U Turn [had] the same highly stylized violence as Stone's Natural Born Killers, but without that film's intellectual content, U Turn seems like Stone's attempt at a commercial hit – and he failed, miserably." Oliver Stone´s neo-noir crime thriller with Sean Penn, Billy Bob Thornton, Jennifer Lopez, Jon Voight, Powers Boothe, Joaquin Phoenix, Claire Danes, and Nick Nolte is such a mess, and the film is hardly exciting nor entertaining. Gene Siskel reflected back in 1997 that "U Turn had the same highly stylized violence as Stone's Natural Born Killers, but without that film's intellectual content, U Turn seems like Stone's attempt at a commercial hit – and he failed, miserably." Just my point as well. Awful acting, awful direction, awful editing (with a nod to "Natural Born Killers") and an awful storyline. By far one of Oliver Stone´s worst films. Avoid. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
U-Turn

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Movie Info

Synopsis A two-bit criminal (Sean Penn) meets an attractive woman (Jennifer Lopez) and her spouse (Nick Nolte), each of whom wants him to murder the other.
Director
Oliver Stone
Producer
Dan Halsted, Clayton Townsend
Screenwriter
John Ridley
Rating
R
Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 25, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$6.6M
Runtime
2h 5m
Sound Mix
Surround, Mono
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