[REVIEW] 'The Girl On the Train' Review

Here's what the critics had to say about the novel-based mystery/thriller film 'The Girl On the Train' co-starring Justin Theroux with criticism from Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, and IMDb:

The Girl On the Train

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 44% based on 181 reviews from critics with an average rating of 5.4/10.0. Rotten Tomatoes critic consensus states: "Emily Blunt's outstanding performance isn't enough to keep 'The Girl On the Train' from sliding sluggishly into exploitative melodrama." Positive reviews from Rotten Tomatoes include: " 'The Girl On the Train' is saved solely by Blunt's superior portrayal. It is by no means better than the book, but it is worth a look." - said film critic Jean Kaplan of Kaplan vs. Kaplan. "The cast, especially Blunt and Bennett, turn in fine, layered performances, and keep the 'Train' on its tracks. Even if you know the story already, it's well worth the ride." - said film critic Adam Graham of Detroit News. " 'The Girl On the Train' deserves to be a minor guilty-pleasure hit, for its performances and hot-house plotting, and for its keeping of the compact of classic women's films, where the heroine most wronged turns out to be right." - said film critic Ty Burr of the Boston Globe. Negative reviews from Rotten Tomatoes include: "The major whodunit here is who made a best-selling thriller so darn boring." - said film critic Brian Truitt for USA Today. "By the time 'The Girl On the Train' eventually gets to its destination, you wish either that it had taken a different route, or that you hadn't bothered to go along for the ride." - said film critic Brian Viner of Daily Mail.com."The real mystery: How did a spine-tingling best-seller turn into a plodding Lifetime-esque melodrama that's devoid of suspense?" - said film critic Mara Reinsten of US Weekly magazine.

" 'The Girl On the Train' is well worth the ride." - said film critic Adam Graham of Detroit News

According to Metacritic the film got a score of 48 out of 100, based on reviews from 49 critics, indicating "generally mixed or average" reviews from critics. Positive reviews from Metacritic include: "Director Tate Taylor deftly translates the bleak, raw-boned menace and tricky time signatures of 'The Girl On the Train's intertwined plot lines, and draws remarkably vivid performances from his cast, particularly his two female leads." said film critic Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly magazine. " 'The Girl On the Train' is a tricky thriller whose tricks are less important than its riveting leading lady Emily Blunt." - said film critic Roger Moore of Movie Nation. " 'The Girl On the Train', though an enjoyable ride, goes idle once it slows down long enough for you to take in the full view of things." - said film critic Michael Nordine of Village Voice.  Negative reviews from Metacritic include: "The overall mood of the film created by the crummy, pinched visuals and logic-strained rhythm is of something scanned and discarded, like a tabloid article or a Lifetime movie." - said film critic Robert Abele of TheWrap.com. "The empathy that director Tate Taylor summoned so effortlessly in his previous films feels strained and unpersuasive here, and moments that should be lacerating...are overplayed to ghastly effect." - said film critic Justin Change of the Lost Angeles Times. "It's just a flat and suspense-free tale of pretty people in peril." - said film critic Christy Lemire for Roger Ebert.com.

" 'The Girl On the Train' is an interesting yet juicy who-dun-it film." - said film critic Casey Chong of Casey's Movie Mania

IMDb the internet movie database gave 'The Girl On the Train' a 6.7 star rating out of a 10.0 star rating based on 244 votes from 74 user and 170 critics. Positive IMDb reviews include: "Emily Blunt excels as the broken-down heroine of Paula Hawkins' best-seller: a fragmented thriller soap opera of sex, booze, violence, and postfeminist empathy." - said film critic Owen Gleiberman of Variety magazine. "Despite the uneven pace and lackluster direction, 'The Girl On the Train' remains an interesting yet juicy whodunit anchored by a pair of impressive performances from Emily Blunt and Haley Bennett." - said film critic Casey Chong of Casey's Movie Mania.com. Negative IMDb reviews include: "Despite a strong performance by Emily Blunt, 'The Girl On the Train' is a middling thriller without much to offer." - said film critic Chris Agar of ScreenRant.com.  " 'The Girl On the Train' is a preposterous movie, but not an unenjoyable one." - said film critic Manhla Dargis of The New York Times. " 'The Girl On the Train' is easily derailed early on in its plot, which one can easily figure out before waiting an additional 100-minutes for the filmmakers to confirm it. It's a huge misstep for director Tate Taylor, and perhaps much too dark for him to tackle at this point." - said film critic Clayton Davis for Award Circuit.com