---
title: "Shattered: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/shattered/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/shattered"
critics_score: 64
critics_reviews: 7
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."
---

# Shattered (1991): what the critics said

Critics' score 64 from 7 reviews: 3 positive, 3 mixed, 1 negative.

Most critics take Shattered as a competent Hitchcock-flavoured thriller that works in spite of a far-fetched plot. The praise clusters on Petersen’s handling of the twists and red herrings, and on the final reveal, which several reviews consider the film’s strongest card. The warmest notices call it sleek, amusing and entertaining; the cooler ones still allow that it grips, and that its clues are planted with some care.

The reservations gather around plausibility and the sheer number of bluffs. Radio Times finds the double-bluffing exhausting, even while admiring the ending that causes it. The one outright dissent comes from Variety, which judges the film emotionally uninvolving and its implausibilities fatal to the suspense, reserving its approval for Bob Hoskins’s lively private detective. The spread is wide for so few reviews, running from a strong recommendation down to a dismissal, and two of the seven cannot be read closely enough to place with confidence.

## Los Angeles Times — Kevin Thomas

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 1991. 

Thomas finds the thriller sleek, amusing, and highly entertaining despite its far-fetched plot. He particularly praises Petersen’s energetic direction, visual panache, and execution of the surprise twist.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-10-11-ca-76-story.html)

## Empire — William Thomas

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 

Thomas finds the thriller neat and satisfying, with silly moments that do not derail its suspense. He praises Petersen’s control of the twists and red herrings, which build to an effective reveal.

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

## Time Out — NF

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

The review describes the film as a credible, gripping thriller. It praises the use of ambiguous clues and a complex approach, though the available description is truncated.

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

## RogerEbert.com

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 

The page content is blocked, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No praise or complaint can be reliably identified from the available text.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/shattered-1991)

## The New York Times

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 1991. 

The page returned only an access error, so the critic’s verdict cannot be verified. No specific praise or complaint is available from the provided text.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/11/movies/review-film-trying-to-rebuild-one-s-past.html)

## Radio Times — John Ferguson

Rating 3/5. 

Ferguson finds the thriller more successful than most Hitchcock tributes, though its many bluffs and double bluffs become exhausting. He singles out the neat ending twist for praise, while noting it also contributes to the problem.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-2szris/shattered/)

## Variety — Variety Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1990. 

The critic finds the thriller far-fetched and emotionally uninvolving, with implausibilities undermining its attempt at suspense. The review singles out Bob Hoskins’s lively private detective as an enlivening presence.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1990/film/reviews/shattered-2-1200428757/)

---
© 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/shattered.md