Michael Leader Den of Geek May 7, 2024 2/5

Perhaps it's the double-edged sword of using religious concepts as the backbone of your story. When pushing hard for morality, it can be easy for it to overshadow other concerns.

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Jane Crowther Total Film Aug 23, 2018 2/5

We have seen this all before; from Jesse Eisenberg's trademark jitters and speedy speech to the inevitable tragic story arc and the morphing of smalltime dabbler to swaggering kingpin, undone by over-confidence. Oy vey.

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Laura Hiros Rincón de cine Mar 20, 2018 3/5

An arrhythmic but very interesting film... [Full review in Spanish]

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Lindy West The Stranger (Seattle, WA) Jan 12, 2018

Holy Rollers' innocence-lost, you-can't-go-home-again arc is something of a clich, but the film remains refreshingly nonjudgmental about its hero's burgeoning criminal career.

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Chase Whale Gordon and the Whale Aug 28, 2013

The one and only problem I had with HOLY ROLLERS was the pacing. I found myself getting slightly bored and at times, looking at my watch. I'm sure it's not easy to mesh Orthodox Judaism and Ecstasy, but Asch did a pretty good job.

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Feb 8, 2013 B-

Offering the viewer hardly any reason to feel this story is credible.

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Alistair Harkness Scotsman Jul 10, 2011 2/5

Despite a suitably nervy turn from Eisenberg, there's no energy to the film-making or much insight into the story.

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Jason Solomons Observer (UK) Jul 10, 2011

It's a surprisingly cool little film, not funny at all but rather seriously torn between the secular and the sacred, a conflict Eisenberg expresses with a neurotic intensity.

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David Edwards Daily Mirror (UK) Jul 8, 2011 2/5

It's a familiar premise and Holy Rollers sprinkles precisely nothing new into the roll-up.

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Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard Jul 8, 2011 3/5

We expect more than we eventually get, even if what we get is watchable throughout.

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Shaun Munro What Culture Jul 8, 2011 2.5/5

Dramatically uneven though well-performed and competently directed, Holy Rollers features an intriguing premise yet treads thin ice when battling an inconsistent script.

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Anthony Quinn Independent (UK) Jul 8, 2011 2/5

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Caroline Jowett Daily Express (UK) Jul 8, 2011

Holy Rollers is based on true events but it lacks any spark of originality.

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Peter Bradshaw Guardian Jul 7, 2011 3/5

[A] breathless, enjoyable comedy-thriller based on the true story of how Hassidic Jews were recruited as mules in the late 1990s to smuggle ecstasy pills from Amsterdam into New York.

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Lisa Giles-Keddie Real.com Jul 7, 2011 3/5

It just feels content to glide along ... and if it wasn't for Eisenberg being his usual quirky and mildly entertaining self, would feel uneven ... and rather erratic.

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Tim Robey Daily Telegraph (UK) Jul 7, 2011 3/5

Jesse Eisenberg, in the main role, enhances the film again and again with his comic timing and ability to nail the part of a sheltered ingnu with an incipient rebel streak. It might be dodgy merchandise, but he sells it all the same.

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Nell Frizzell Little White Lies Jul 7, 2011 3/5

This is more accurately a film about a revolution against innocence and the vacuum it leaves behind.

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Matthew Turner ViewLondon Jul 7, 2011 3/5

Who wouldn't be intrigued by a documentary about blackjack gamblers trying to beat the casinos at their own game?

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Roz Laws Birmingham Post Jul 7, 2011 2/5

The film is slow, sometimes confusing and not very involving.

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Karen Krizanovich Radio Times Jul 7, 2011 2/5

The problem is that it's not terribly dramatic, despite good central performances from Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Bartha.

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