---
title: "Inside Job: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/inside-job/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/inside-job"
critics_score: 80
critics_reviews: 21
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Inside Job (2010): what the critics said

Critics' score 80 from 21 reviews: 19 positive, 1 mixed, 1 negative.

Most critics come away impressed and angry, and nineteen of the twenty-one reviews are positive. The praise clusters on clarity: reviewers repeatedly say Ferguson explains deregulation, CDOs and the chain of failures to a lay audience without simplifying it into mush. The interviews draw the most comment, especially the sight of insiders squirming under questioning, and several single out the exposure of academic economists’ conflicts of interest and the revolving door between finance, regulators and government. Matt Damon’s narration and the slick photography are credited with giving dense material room to breathe.

The reservations are minor and scattered, and the spread is narrow. Sight and Sound calls it a decent but unoriginal primer, offering little new and unlikely to persuade anyone not already persuaded. The Wrap, the lone negative, objects to what it sees as slanted bias and personal attacks on interviewees. Others note information overload, some emotional appeals near the end, and a bleak close that informs without empowering.

## Slant Magazine — Aaron Cutler

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 October 2010. 

The critic finds the documentary becomes essential once it shows those in power squirming and lying under questioning, exposing ongoing conflicts of interest. It turns the financial crisis into dark, despairing comedy that angers the viewer.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/inside-job/)

## The Guardian — Philip French

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 20 February 2011. 

Ferguson's documentary on the 2008 financial crisis is an intelligent, riveting and exemplary account that unfolds like a gripping thriller through interviews and archive material. The critic singles out the clear exposé of deregulation since Reagan and the conflicts of interest among academic economists as particularly compelling.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/feb/20/inside-job-charles-ferguson-review)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Duane Byrge

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 October 2010. 

The critic calls the film a powerful, lively and acidic takedown of Wall Street greed and the collusion between financial services, regulators and government. It makes complex economics understandable via revealing interviews and Matt Damon's narration.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/inside-job-film-review-29602/)

## The New York Times — A.O. Scott

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 7 October 2010. 

The critic describes the film as a meticulous and infuriating documentary that chronicles a crime without punishment in the 2008 financial crisis. He singles out its rigorous, restrained delivery of complex information with moral force and good humor.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/movies/08inside.html)

## Evening Standard

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. 

The review lauds the lucid explanation of the 2008 crisis and the damning interviews with those involved, highlighting the absurdity of the 'revolving door' between finance, academia, and government as a key strength.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-biggest-heist-of-all-in-inside-job-7423625.html)

## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 15 October 2010. 

The critic calls the film a powerhouse documentary that thoroughly explains the crisis and leaves viewers thunderstruck and enraged. He praises its smart, confident analysis, cinematic verve, and access to high-level insiders.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-oct-15-la-et-inside-job-20101015-story.html)

## Variety — Rob Nelson

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 15 May 2010. Festival review. 

The critic deems it the definitive screen investigation of the global economic crisis and a new nonfiction masterwork ranking with Ferguson’s prior film. He highlights its concise historical overview, hard evidence of amorality, and fearless interviews.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2010/film/markets-festivals/inside-job-1117942765/)

## Empire — Damon Wise

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 31 January 2011. 

Praises the film as a dispassionate and revealing barometer of the times, commending its use of Iceland as a case study and its restrained anger at systemic greed.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/inside-job-review/)

## Screen Daily

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 2010. Festival review. 

The film gives the global financial crisis a cold hard stare, explaining what went wrong in quietly passionate tones with more irony than Michael Moore’s approach. It enlightens even financial dummies and leaves viewers suitably angry through slick production and well-chosen interviewees.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/inside-job/5013952.article)

## The Independent — Sean O'Grady

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 February 2011. 

The critic praises the film's ability to explain the financial crisis clearly through interviews and analysis, singling out the exposure of economists' conflicts of interest for particular note.

[Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/inside-job-12a-the-ios-review-2219812.html)

## Time Out — Dave Calhoun

Rating 4/5. 15 February 2011. 

An impressive and angry documentary that clearly traces the roots of the financial meltdown to an alliance between politics, academia and big business. It stands out for its confrontational interview style and slick photography that provides necessary breathing room amid dense facts.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/inside-job-1)

## The Times

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 5 February 2011. 

Charles Ferguson's documentary clearly explains the complex origins of the financial crisis through a chronological account of deregulation and hubris, making a dry subject well worth seeing. The critic praises its simplicity and the way it shows how financiers convinced others they had abolished risk.

[Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/inflated-egos-and-dodgy-dealings-in-inside-job-zp869lvcf3t)

## Sight and Sound — Vadim Rizov

Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 1 March 2011. 

The film offers a decent but unoriginal overview of the 2008 financial crisis, valuable mainly for its clear explanations of complex instruments like CDOs. It is watchable and serves as a public service primer, though it provides little new information and is unlikely to persuade opponents.

[Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/5958)

## The Playlist — Edward Davis

Rating A-. 10 September 2010. Festival review. 

The review describes the film as a dense, exhaustive and scathing investigation into the financial crisis, praising its depth of research and no-holds-barred approach while noting it can be information overload at times. It highlights the film's furious attack on greed and government inaction.

[Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/tiff-10-review-inside-job-is-dense-20100910/)

## Paste — Bennett Webber

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 2010. 

The critic praises the film for its methodical, fact-based approach to explaining the 2008 financial crisis through deregulation and complex financial instruments, without dramatizations or speculation. Ferguson is commended for making the subject irrefutable and leaving viewers informed and furious.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/inside-job-review)

## Den of Geek — Michael Leader

Rating 4/5. 18 February 2011. 

The film is a compelling, slick account of the financial crisis that is informative yet bleak and not empowering. It excels in its non-partisan anger and professional production values but undercuts any inspirational close.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/inside-job-review/)

## Digital Spy — Simon Reynolds

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 14 February 2011. 

Ferguson crafts a gripping, fascinating documentary that unravels complex financial issues and builds fury at the unaccountable elite. It leaves viewers seething over the lack of reform and punishment.

[Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a300822/inside-job/)

## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 16 February 2011. 

The critic commends the documentary's economical and powerful simplicity in detailing the fraud and government inaction behind the crisis, praising its thorough research and effective use of narration and interviews. The main takeaway is the alarming links between finance, academia, and politics.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/inside-job-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson)

## HeyUGuys — Craig Skinner

Rating 4/5. 16 February 2011. 

The critic praises the film's clear, fact-based examination of the financial crisis through expert interviews and graphics, highlighting its value in exposing issues without sensationalism. Minor complaints about some emotional appeals at the end.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/inside-job-review/)

## The Skinny — Matthew Arnoldi

Rating 4/5. 11 February 2011. 

The timely documentary dissects the meltdown with inventive graphics and a calm narration, avoiding political bias while highlighting deregulation's role. Some root causes are glossed over, leaving an uncomfortable sense that key perpetrators remain powerful.

[Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/inside-job)

## The Wrap — Megan Jones

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 22 November 2010. 

The film delivers an important message about the financial crisis but is undermined by slanted bias and mean-spirited personal attacks on interviewees. The filmmaker shows skill with aerial shots and overall craft, yet the approach veers into unsubstantiated accusations.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/inside-job-important-movie-marred-bias-22758/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/inside-job.md