UntraceableMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 32 out of 100 Generally unfavorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Not for kids 17 and under
Read Common Sense Media review

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

  • 75
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    A horrifying thriller, smart and tightly told, and merciless. Read full review

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter | Michael Rechtshaffen

    Highly watchable, anchored sturdily by Lane's convincing performance. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety | Joe Leydon

    Unfolding like a better-than-average episode of a first-rate TV police procedural, Untraceable is a satisfying slice of solidly crafted meat-and-potatoes filmmaking. Read full review

  • 70
    Los Angeles Times | Kevin Crust

    If Dick Wolf is interested in doing a "Law & Order: Cyber Crimes," he could do worse than to follow the lead of Untraceable, a diverting police procedural about an FBI unit tasked with sleuthing the Internet for mouse-wielding bad guys. Read full review

  • 67
    Entertainment Weekly |

    Lane skillfully sells the tech-heavy script. But after a much-too-early reveal of the murderer's identity, the ''low battery'' signal starts to flash on this film by thriller specialist Gregory Hoblit, director of last year's far superior "Fracture." Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    From its very first scene, Untraceable isn't the sophisticated, brainy thriller it so nearly could have been, but just another movie about a serial murderer. Read full review

  • 38
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    A wan version of the same old tired serial killer story, despite its updated milieu -- cyberspace. Read full review

  • 20
    The New York Times | Stephen Holden

    You may view Untraceable, as I do, as a repugnant example of the voyeurism it pretends to condemn. Read full review

  • 0
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    As plain awful as Untraceable is, possibly the worst thing about it is that it pretends to mean something. Read full review

  • 0
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Talk about your pious frauds. I've got a better way to show your disgust for Internet scum: Don't see Untraceable. Read full review

View more reviews for Untraceable on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Not for kids 17 and under Violent torture thriller puts blame on the media.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this violent thriller features several long, disturbing scenes of torture -- bodies are bloodied, burned, dissolved in acid, and nearly decapitated by whirling blades. Other upsetting scenes feature Tasering, shooting, and a threat against a young girl, as well as plenty of images of dead bodies. All of this is framed within an argument against easy access to images of violence and abuse via the Internet, but that doesn't make it any less disturbing. Language includes repeated uses of "f--k" and other profanity.
  • Families can talk about the arguments for and against policing content on the Internet. How can you keep children safe from certain sites and users without unnecessarily censoring what adults can see? Should someone be in charge of what is and isn't OK to put online? If so, who? For tips on staying safe and smart online, try our guide.
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: The killer is angered by violence's exposure in the media and makes his viewers complicit in his crimes. Agents are frustrated, angry, and eventually triumphant.
What to watch for
  • violence false5 Violence: Incessant violence (on computer screens and "live") committed by the serial killer, who tortures victims in front of a Web cam. These scenes are bloody, loud, and variously creepy: one involves the death of a kitten, while others show poisoning/bleeding, burning by sunlamps, bodily immersion in a vat of acid, and suspension over roaring lawnmower-style blades. The killer uses a Taser to zap his victims unconscious. SWAT teams burst into a couple of suspects' homes. Frequent tense moments as characters make their way through dark shadows. Plenty of guns wielded by agents -- and shot at suspect. Repeated viewing of a graphic scene in which a man shoots his head off. References to terrorism and using the Internet to publicize violence. Verbal references to a cop killed on the job, and several references to sex-related crimes (soliciting children online, for instance).
  • sex false3 Sex: Some brief shots of porn Web sites on FBI computer monitors; images of "bondage" found in one suspect's home are shown briefly. A couple of non-explicit shower scenes suggest a woman's vulnerability (camera hovers outside shower or above her crouched form). Passing references to a male flirting with a "men's chorus soprano."
  • language false5 Language: Many uses of "f--k," in addition to frequent instances of other language ("s--t," "damn," "hell," "ass," etc.) In one instance, "f--k" is carved into a victim's chest.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Pepsi vending machine in cops' office.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false0 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue
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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