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Movies / Upcoming / The Informant!
The Informant!

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The Informant! (2009)

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Reviews Counted:174

Fresh:133

Rotten:41

Average Rating:6.8/10

Consensus: A charismatic turn by star Matt Damon and a consistently ironic tone boost this quietly funny satire about a corporate whistle-blower.

Genre: Comedies

US Box Office: $33,213,811

Synopsis: What was Mark Whitacre thinking? A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Whitacre (Matt Damon) suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company's... What was Mark Whitacre thinking? A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Whitacre (Matt Damon) suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company's multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of the common man and handed a promotion. But before all that can happen, the FBI needs evidence, so Whitacre eagerly agrees to wear a wire and carry a hidden tape recorder in his briefcase, imagining himself as a kind of de facto secret agent.

Unfortunately for the FBI, their lead witness hasn't been quite so forthcoming about helping himself to the corporate coffers. Whitacre's ever-changing account frustrates the agents (Scott Bakula and Joel McHale) and threatens the case against ADM as it becomes almost impossible to decipher what is real and what is the product of Whitacre's active imagination.

Academy Award® winner Matt Damon ("Good Will Hunting," the "Bourne" movies) stars in "The Informant!," based on the true story of the highest-ranking corporate whistleblower in U.S. history. The film also stars Scott Bakula, Joel McHale and Melanie Lynskey.

"The Informant!" is directed by Academy Award® winner Steven Soderbergh ("Traffic") from a screenplay by Scott Z. Burns, based on the book The Informant (A True Story), written by Kurt Eichenwald. The film is produced by Gregory Jacobs, Jennifer Fox, Michael Jaffe, Howard Braunstein and Kurt Eichenwald. George Clooney, Jeff Skoll and Michael London served as executive producers, with Michael Polaire co-producing.

The behind-the-scenes creative team includes production designer Doug Meerdink, editor Stephen Mirrione and costume designer Shoshana Rubin. The music is by multiple Oscar® winner and nominee Marvin Hamlisch ("The Sting," "The Way We Were").

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Participant Media and Groundswell Productions, a Section Eight-Jaffe/Braunstein Enterprise, "The Informant!" --© Warner Bros [More]

Starring: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey

Starring: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey, Tony Hale, Thomas F. Wilson, Rick Overton, Tom Papa, Adam Paul, Paul F. Tompkins, Clancy Brown, Patton Oswalt

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Screenwriter: Scott Z. Burns
Producer: Gregory Jacobs, Jennifer Fox, Howard Braunstein, Kurt Eichenwald
Composer: Marvin Hamlisch
Studio: Warner Bros.

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for The Informant!

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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It sets out to be less pompous than similar films, which inevitably means it feels less substantial. While amusing rather than hilarious, it ought to establish Matt Damon as a star character actor.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
11/20/09
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It may come across like a self-satisfied madcap bauble, but that titular exclamation mark is the key that unlocks the myriad subtextual delights of Soderbergh’s timely latest.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
11/20/09
David Jenkins
David Jenkins
Time Out

Powered by a convincing Matt Damon, The Informant! is a quick-on-its feet comedy that never outstays its welcome. If it has a problem, it's that it's neither funny enough nor emotionally resonant to make a truly lasting impact.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
11/20/09
James Mottram
James Mottram
Channel 4 Film

Director Stephen Soderbergh and its star Matt Damon have crafted a skittish caper movie, a pyrotechnical display of colourful lies that unravel to a giddy retro score.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
11/20/09
Wendy Ide
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Soderbergh has commissioned a relentlessly jazzy, wacky musical score from Hollywood veteran Marvin Hamlisch just so that we realise it's all supposed to be funny.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
11/20/09
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Informant! is far from negligible, but it’s undoubtedly second-tier Soderbergh.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
11/20/09
Sukhdev Sandhu
Sukhdev Sandhu
Daily Telegraph

It’s easy to forget that Damon is a talented character actor. The Informant! might be too feather-light to bring him the plaudits he deserves, but it’s to his credit that this is one of the most enjoyable films in months.

Full Review Source: Little White Lies | comment Comment
11/20/09
Dan Stewart
Dan Stewart
Little White Lies

An amusing if rather too glib thriller.

Full Review Source: Digital Spy | comment Comment
11/20/09
Stella Papamichael
Stella Papamichael
Digital Spy

You go in expecting a jaunty caper. What you get, disconcertingly, is a bleak, rather sad study of an unraveling mind.

comment Comment
11/20/09
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
Heat Magazine

A lightweight yet likeable cross between The Insider and Catch Me If You Can.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
11/20/09
Tim Evans
Tim Evans
Sky Movies

Although Damon is on brilliantly bumbling form, The Informant! ultimately comes off as Soderbergh’s Burn After Reading – a diversionary lark until he gets back to serious filmmaking.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
11/20/09
Matt Mueller
Matt Mueller
Total Film

Only one role is fleshed out, and that’s Damon’s. With walrus ‘tache and a dazzling mix of the naive and the Machiavellian, his is, despite the movie’s lack of flair, one of the year’s stand-out performances.

Full Review Source: Uncut Magazine [UK] | comment Comment
11/20/09
Chris Roberts
Chris Roberts
Uncut Magazine [UK]

It's a tough sell, for sure: a not-quite-comedy, not-quite-drama about a long-forgotten crime. But this is a rewarding film: slyly cynical about big business, American justice, and the men who represent both.

Full Review Source: GQ Magazine [UK] | comment Comment
11/20/09
Alex Blimes
Alex Blimes
GQ Magazine [UK]

Damon makes his character ridiculous in a very convincing way while never for a moment overplaying.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
11/20/09
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London

Damon conveys the vulnerability of his character, but the script fails to explore why Whitacre makes the choices he does. He's simply buffoonish.

Full Review Source: Radio Times | comment Comment
11/20/09
Stella Papamichael
Stella Papamichael
Radio Times

Quirky and eccentric rather than laugh-out-loud funny, mildly amusing rather than fully involving.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment Comment
11/20/09
Daily Mail [UK]

Damon is great. His comic timing as Mark Whitacre, a biochemist turned inept corporate whistleblower, transforms what should have been a dull film into an entertaining one.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
11/20/09
Sun Online

Scott Z Burns’s script hinges entirely on incidents that take place off-screen. The film will only work if audiences fail to notice this. But they won’t, so it won’t.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment Comment
11/20/09
Leo Robson
Leo Robson
Financial Times

The problem with The Informant!, aside from that overcoaxing exclamation mark, is that it's not especially funny.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
11/20/09
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

An amusing and beautifully acted little caper but the very American shenanigans may well struggle to keep you entirely engaged.

Full Review Source: Daily Express | comment Comment
11/20/09
Allan Hunter
Allan Hunter
Daily Express
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
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Latest News for The Informant!

September 18, 2009: Scott Bakula Talks The Informant! Opens in new window
He's currently in "The Informant!" but Collider had plenty of other stuff to ask Scott Bakula about during their interview -- including, of course, his stint on "Quantum Leap." More...

September 17, 2009: Critics Consensus: Jennifer's Body Is Hot, But The Movie Isn't
This week at the movies, we've got a possessed student body (Jennifer's Body, starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried); an oddball snitch (The Informant!, starring Matt Damon and... More...

September 09, 2009: click for trailer and preview Opens in new window
More...

July 12, 2009: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

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