The first reviews of Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing are in, and it seems to live up to what the electric trailer promises. The Black Swan and The Wrestler director’s newest movie follows Hank (Austin Butler), a former baseball player who gets pulled into a hurricane of crime and action when his neighbor, Russ (Matt Smith), merely asks him to watch his cats for a few days.
Caught Stealing also stars Zoë Kravitz, Bad Bunny, Vincent D’Onofrio, Regina King, and Carole Kane, and the comments from those who have seen the film early are largely positive. The trailer certainly makes it look like a wild ride, appearing to be a drastic departure from Aronofsky’s serious, traditional dramas, but the final version of this dark comedy and crime thriller seems to be worth it.
ScreenRant‘s own Liam Crowley (via @LiamTCrowley) calls Caught Stealing “a sH๏τ of adrenaline,” and praises the overall structure of the plot:
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Meanwhile, @joblocom directly says that it is “one of the best movies of the year“:
@jairojimenez_ praises some more of the specifics, including how the movie captures ’90s New York and the performances, especially Austin Butler:
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More amusingly, @EricVespe says that Caught Stealing is worth the number of times moviegoers have had to watch the trailer this year before other features:
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This comes across as a risky movie, which is likely why @WMorales_BFTV says: “Caught Stealing is better than I expected.“ But it is apparently a “dark and twisted crime thriller” with a great cast, and Oscar-winner Regina King has “a LOT of fun” with her role:
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However, these opinions are not universal, as @bigtunaonfilm says that the movie lacks “excitement,” but that the lead actors are still great:
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What These Reactions Mean For Caught Stealing
Caught Stealing, which will hit theaters on Aug. 29 and has yet to receive any Rotten Tomatoes scores, has some big names on screen and behind the camera to spark the audience’s interest. Based on @EricVespe’s comment, the studio has invested in marketing it reasonably well. And if these reactions are any indication, good word of mouth could swiftly turn it into a hit.
Caught Stealing continues a trend for Austin Butler of great crime thrillers, while Matt Smith and Zoë Kravitz have also produced some excellent work in recent years, meaning their fans may come out in droves to this movie, and they will have another great тιтle added to their resumes. Overall, Caught Stealing is simply off to a great start.
Our Take On Caught Stealing’s First Reviews
There are a lot of creatives I like involved with Caught Stealing, and I can’t be the only one happy to see things working out for this movie. The director’s movies haven’t received as many Oscar nominations in recent years, but I am eager to see how this one will do in light of its more comedic angle.
Aronofsky’s The Whale‘s lead star, Brendan Fraser, ironically won Best Actor over Austin Butler in 2023, but the high praise for the Elvis actor may be the earliest hints that this will be his year, while Matt Smith could even earn his first Oscar nomination. Either way, Caught Stealing looks like it is about to make its mark on the zeitgeist, hopefully for the better.
