Ronan Farren Sunday Independent (Ireland) Jul 21, 2026

The Commitments is funny, warm, wonderfully acted, loud, lewd and sceptical.

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Madeleine Harmsworth Sunday Mirror (UK) Feb 13, 2026 4/5

Alan Parker's lively The Commitments provides two hours of wonderful entertainment.

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Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Nov 13, 2025 4/4

Pure pleasure on every level.

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Steve Murray Atlanta Journal-Constitution Sep 25, 2025

A finger-snapping good time on the ol' sod.

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Neil Jillett The Age (Australia) Jul 22, 2025

The story is compelling but thin... But the colorful characters, and the way Parker has them interacting against the grottier corners of Dublin, give the film an enormous vitality, brisk and raucous, that never tips over into larger-than-life pandemonium.

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Joe Clay The Times (UK) Dec 27, 2023

[A] rollicking rags-to-rags story.

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Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) Dec 12, 2022

The Commitments is very well realized but requires a specialized audience. [Full review in Spanish]

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Patrick Z. McGavin Chicago Reader May 24, 2022 3/4

The Commitments is possibly Parker’s most personal film, his own working-class origins in the north London borough of Islington paralleling those of his characters.

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Travis Johnson sbs.com.au Oct 24, 2021

At base The Commitments is about the common experiences and emotions that unite us.

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Leonard Pitts Jr. Miami Herald Aug 17, 2021 2.5/4

The locations have a certain grimy reality. The musical sequences are downright combustible, exploding off the screen. And the cast -- young and inexperienced as they are -- manage to convey poignant believability.

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David Nusair Reel Film Reviews Mar 28, 2020 3/4

Filmmaker Alan Parker does a superb job of instantly luring the viewer into the deliberately-paced proceedings...

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Harriet Waugh The Spectator Jul 19, 2018

It is fun, warm, moving, lively -- an altogether enjoyable film.

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Renee Schonfeld Common Sense Media Sep 6, 2016 4/5

Joyous '90s musical-drama has lots of profanity.

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Dustin Putman TheBluFile.com Aug 29, 2016 2.5/4

Memorable, lingering in one's mind after it has ended. Perhaps, in the end, it's a tad wiser than it initially lets on.

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Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Sep 7, 2011 C

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Brian Orndorf BrianOrndorf.com Aug 16, 2011 A-

It's a relaxed, colorful creation, remaining true to rascally human behaviors while respecting the unifying power of music. Downright irresistible.

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Richard Corliss TIME Magazine Aug 20, 2008

The film offers no message, no solutions, only a great time at the movies.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Jun 6, 2008

Does a remarkable job of balancing a feel of lower-class life with the sheer exuberance the music brings.

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Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Apr 6, 2008 4/5

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Variety Staff Variety Mar 10, 2008

Director Alan Parker's story of a band of young Dubliners playing American '60s soul is fresh, well-executed and original.

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