GoodFellasMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Goodfellas."

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Must Go!
Avg. Critic Score: 89 out of 100 Universal acclaim Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
17 not for kids
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Ferocious brutality is presented without commentary or judgment, yet with unmistakable moral understanding and vision. [21 September 1990, Daily Notebook p.E-1] Read full review

  • 100
    Chicago Tribune | Gene Siskel

    All of the performances are first-rate; Pesci stands out, though, with his seemingly unscripted manner. GoodFellas is easily one of the year's best films. [21 September 1990, Friday, p.C] Read full review

  • 100
    Christian Science Monitor | David Sterritt

    Stunningly acted. [21 September 1990, The Arts, p.12] Read full review

  • 100
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    No finer film has ever been made about organized crime - not even "The Godfather." Read full review

  • 100
    USA Today | Mike Clark

    Great cinema - and also a whopping good time. [19 September 1990, Life, p.1D] Read full review

  • 100
    Los Angeles Times | Sheila Benson

    GoodFellas is "Raging Bull" squared. [20 September 1990, Calendar, p.F-1] Read full review

  • 90
    Film.com | John Hartl

    An appalling masterpiece. Read full review

  • 90
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    One of Martin Scorsese's most brutal but stunning movies, an incredible, relentless experience about the singleminded pursuit of crime. Read full review

  • 80
    Rolling Stone |

    Martin Scorsese scores again with his gritty, kinetic adaptation of Nicolas Pileggi's best-selling "Wiseguy." Read full review

  • 70
    Variety |

    Simultaneously fascinating and repellent, Goodfellas is Martin Scorsese's colorful but dramatically unsatisfying inside look at Mafia life in 1955-1980 New York City. Read full review

View more reviews for GoodFellas on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says not for kids Masterful but brutal gangster tale isn't for kids.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this is a movie for mature filmgoers. Violent behavior, vicious characters, and profane language occur from the very first frames and throughout. Multiple scenes involve the terrorizing of innocent people, savage beatings, and graphic killing, including several shottings to the head at point-blank range. Drunkenness, drug use, adultery, thievery, corruption, graft and dishonesty are the lesser crimes in this intense, realistic movie. It is a film without any heroes or positive role models.
  • Families can talk about what all the violence in this movie tell you about its characters. What happens when a close-knit group of people considers itself above the law? Using Henry Hill and Karen Hill as examples, how do the filmmakers show the mob's influence on the values and behavior of its individual members? How does it change them? What do you think the filmmakers are trying to say about peer pressure and going along with "the gang." Why do you think there are no real "good fellas" in this movie?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: This movie is about amoral, unethical, and illegal behavior. The characters lie, cheat, steal, gamble, abuse drugs, maim, torture, and kill. In almost all cases, they show no guilt or remorse. Instead they are driven by an unwavering loyalty to the most violent and powerful among their peers. It's a striking example of "mob mentality." Women are treated as sexual objects and second-class members of the society.
What to watch for
  • violence false5 Violence: From start to finish violence is at the forefront of this film. There are frequent vicious beatings, incidents of domestic abuse, point blank shootings, and stabbings with both knives and icepick. In addition, the audience will witness psychopathic outbursts, blood spurting and gushing in scene after scene; a father beats his son with a belt; numerous men are executed with shots to the head.
  • sex false3 Sex: Several scenes show passionate kissing and touching as foreplay to sexual intercourse. Oral sex is implied but not actually in full view. Adultery is shown to be part of the gangster lifestyle.
  • language false5 Language: Profanity and cursing is pervasive throughout. "F--k" in all forms is used in nearly every scene. There are also several ethnic slurs uttered, including the "N" word and ugly references to Jews.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false5 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Seen here, the consumption of cigarettes, cigars, and alcohol are integral components of the mob lifestyle. There are frequent sequences of social drinking taken to the extreme and leading to drunken misbehavior and even violence in some instances. A leading character's descent into drug addiction is graphically shown. Cocaine use is explicit in several scenes.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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