--- title: "The Limey: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-limey/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-limey" critics_score: 68 critics_reviews: 8 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." --- # The Limey (1999): what the critics said Critics' score 68 from 8 reviews: 6 positive, 1 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics take The Limey for what it is: a slight revenge plot made sadder and more interesting by the way Soderbergh assembles it. The praise clusters around the editing, the scrambled timelines and the decision to use footage of the young Terence Stamp from Poor Cow as flashbacks, which several reviews single out as the film’s most affecting idea. The casting of Stamp and Peter Fonda as relics of the 1960s is widely admired, as is Ed Lachman’s photography, and the general reading is of a rueful, nostalgic picture about ageing and retirement rather than an action film. The reservations are about Lem Dobbs’s script, which even admirers find thin, and about whether the style carries more weight than the story can bear. The spread is wide. Empire dismisses it as stilted and overstyled, and Eye for Film finds Stamp wooden, a view no other review shares. ## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 24 October 2022. The critic describes The Limey as a terse and atmospheric crime film with an unusually vivid sense of regret achieved through submerged textures and cross-cutting timelines. It functions as a perfect storm of technique, intuition, and personal taste that opens a vortex of longing and nostalgia for lost cinematic waves. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-limey-review-steven-soderbergh/) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 29 March 2002. The critic sees The Limey as a clever and meaningful homage to fractured late-'60s classics like Point Blank and Petulia that scrambles basic genre elements into something fresh and formally exciting. It edges into a sad, rueful tone that lends poignancy to Stamp's quest and the stars' ebbing careers. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-limey-1798195666) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. This low-budget crime movie is funny, touching and assured, milking the fish-out-of-water premise with imagination and wit. Stamp delivers a superb lead performance supported by strong turns from Fonda and others, with Soderbergh's narrative playfulness singled out as a highlight. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-limey) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 18 May 1999. Festival review. The critic describes Soderbergh's thriller as a compelling duel between two 1960s relics, with Terence Stamp as a vengeful Cockney ex-con and Peter Fonda as his sleazy target. He singles out the film's innovative use of clips from the 1967 film Poor Cow for flashbacks instead of recasting or aging the actor. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian/0,4267,51229,00.html) ## Sight and Sound — Philip Strick Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). Soderbergh's latest is a fragmented, memory-like revenge tale that prioritises visual and linguistic play over straightforward narrative. The critic highlights the film's elegant framing and allusions while noting its capricious attention and the standout performance by Amelia Heinle. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/540) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 4 October 1999. The critic finds power in the film's oblique European-style approach and glimpses of the protagonist's past rather than its deadened morality or revenge plot. He singles out the use of clips from the young Terence Stamp in Poor Cow for emotional resonance. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/10/11/in-a-lonely-place) ## Empire — Andrew Collins Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The film is a stilted, slight and bizarre fish-out-of-water yarn that fails to balance tension and comedy. Stamp's performance and the casting of 1960s icons are highlights but cannot save the thinly plotted, overstylised result. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/limey-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kevin Thomas 8 October 1999. The review describes it as a sleek, stylish contemporary L.A. noir that offers familiar genre satisfactions while evoking the lost idealism of the 1960s through its casting and references. It singles out the adroit casting of 1960s icons and Ed Lachman’s lush photography. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-08-ca-19996-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert 8 October 1999. The critic praises Soderbergh's ironic, visually inventive take on a basic revenge story centered on two aging criminals. He singles out the use of flashbacks from Terence Stamp's earlier work and the film's focus on retirement and mortality over action. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-limey-1999) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 8 October 1999. The review calls the film a piquant nostalgic throwback to 1960s noir style, with the best chance among Soderbergh's films of becoming a sentimental favorite. It singles out the revisiting of Terence Stamp and Peter Fonda as charismatic 1960s stars and the cool panache of the cinematography. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/08/movies/film-review-touring-show-business-royalty-and-its-underworld.html) ## Variety — Emanuel Levy 18 May 1999. Festival review. The review notes that Soderbergh turns a routine revenge thriller into an accomplished, contemplative character-driven drama about family and generational issues. It singles out the bravura acting ensemble and the impressive technical aspects like cinematography and editing, despite script weaknesses. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/the-limey-1117499755/) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2001. The critic praises Soderbergh's stylish direction, camera tricks, and time-shuffling for creating a seductive noir look but criticizes Lem Dobbs's flashy script and Terence Stamp's wooden performance as the vengeful ex-con Wilson. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-limey-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © 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/the-limey.md