--- title: "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/jay-and-silent-bob-strike-back/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/jay-and-silent-bob-strike-back" critics_score: 49 critics_reviews: 12 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." --- # Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001): what the critics said Critics' score 49 from 12 reviews: 2 positive, 7 mixed, 3 negative. The reviews lean mixed, with most critics landing somewhere between amused and worn down. Where there is praise it goes to the Hollywood parodies and to the supporting players: Chris Rock’s furious director and Jason Lee’s scene-stealing turns come up more than once, and Will Ferrell is singled out as the one actor adding something to a deliberately dumb comedy. Several reviewers admit to laughing, and nearly all agree the film works best for people who already know Kevin Smith’s earlier films. The reservations cluster around self-indulgence. The insider jokes about Miramax, the scatological business and a shapeless plot are the recurring complaints, and the spread is wide. Den of Geek and Eye for Film treat it as mindless fun, while Variety calls it a squandered setback, The Guardian finds it crude with little comic payoff, and The AV Club points to a long, leaden heist subplot as the place where the film stalls. Empire speaks for the middle: infuriatingly uneven, sharp one minute and mirthless the next. ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 24 August 2001. The page is identified as a film review, but its text is inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict cannot be established. No specific praise or complaint can be verified from the available page. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/24/movies/film-review-hitchhiking-in-a-hurry-what-does-that-tell-you.html) ## Time Out — AL Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The accessible page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It provides no praise or complaint beyond the film’s premise. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/jay-and-silent-bob-strike-back) ## Radio Times — Andrew Collins Rating 3/5. The review sees the film as an indulgent, dim-witted road-trip comedy rather than a successful return to Smith’s slacker universe. It singles out the pair’s scatological antics as a weakness. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-r0qddk/jay-and-silent-bob-strike-back/) ## Total Film — Total Film Rating 3/5. 30 November 2001. The review finds the comedy enjoyable overall, though uneven and most rewarding for Kevin Smith fans. It praises the Hollywood parodies while criticizing the film’s patchiness and reliance on insider references. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/jay-and-silent-bob-strike-back-review/) ## Empire — Adam Smith Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. Smith finds the film infuriatingly uneven, with jokes that sometimes land brilliantly and sometimes fall flat. He praises Jay’s tree-dweller rant and Chris Rock’s angry director, while criticizing the weak plot and mirthless stretches. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/jay-silent-bob-strike-back-review/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 2/4. 24 August 2001. The page is blocked, so the critic’s verdict cannot be verified from the available text. No specific praise or complaint is accessible. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/jay-and-silent-bob-strike-back-2001) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Rating 2.5/5. 16 November 2009. Gonzalez finds the film consistently funny and among Kevin Smith’s best work, despite an occasional lapse into parody. He praises its sharp Hollywood satire but calls the Blu-ray release anemic, with only adequate picture and sound and scant extras. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/jay-and-silent-bob-strike-back-bd/) ## The Guardian — Philip French Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 2 December 2001. French finds the film self-indulgent and crude, with little comic payoff. He particularly criticizes the dumbed-down humor and performances that mug knowingly at the audience. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/dec/02/philipfrench2) ## Variety — Scott Foundas Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 17 August 2001. Foundas delivers a strongly negative verdict, calling the film a squandered artistic setback. He criticizes its limp movie parodies and self-congratulatory Miramax insider humor. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2001/film/reviews/jay-and-silent-bob-strike-back-2-1200469412/) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2001. Tobias pans the film as a self-indulgent, shapeless exercise aimed at hardcore Kevin Smith fans. He singles out the overlong, leaden heist subplot as especially damaging to the film’s momentum. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/jay-and-silent-bob-strike-back-1798192738) ## Den of Geek — Carley Tauchert Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 6 August 2009. Tauchert calls the film a guilty pleasure and a fitting love letter to Kevin Smith fans. She especially praises the cast’s enthusiasm and Jason Lee’s scene-stealing performances. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/revisiting-kevin-smiths-jay-silent-bob-strike-back/) ## Eye for Film — Keith Dudhnath Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2002. Dudhnath finds the film to be mindless, hilarious fun, though its appeal depends on familiarity with Smith’s earlier films. He singles out Will Ferrell as the only actor who brings something extra to the deliberately dumb comedy. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/jay-and-silent-bob-strike-back-film-review-by-keith-dudhnath) --- © 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/jay-and-silent-bob-strike-back.md