Copyright slashfilm
When "Tower Heist" debuted in 2011, it made $152.9 million at the box office against a $75 million budget. If you know anything about how the movie box office actually works, you'll know that means it likely didn't make much, if anything, in terms of profit. But it certainly wasn't a disaster by any means. When the movie snuck into theaters, /Film dubbed "Tower Heist" an "almost passable comedy." Many other critics, however, were actually quite impressed with the movie, though nobody was particularly convinced by the film's attempts at commenting on income inequality. A 67% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes isn't half bad. Writing for the Associated Press, Christy Lemire praised Murphy for embracing "his classic comic mode," highlighting how "it's hard to focus on anyone or anything else" when he's on-screen. "It's as if we've turned back time and erased all those family-friendly duds and lame laughers," she wrote, echoing several other reviewers who were evidently glad to see the Murphy of old return. Bill Goodykoontz of the Arizona Republic, for example, wrote simply, "Man, it's good to see Murphy being funny again," while Empire's Nick De Semlyen dubbed Murphy's performance "a welcome return to form." J. R. Jones of the Chicago Reader, however, felt differently, writing that "Tower Heist" was "highly recommended if you want to watch an assortment of rich movie stars feel your pain." In a similarly negative 2.5 star review, the late great Roger Ebert wrote, "This isn't a great heist movie for a lot of reasons, beginning with the stupidity of its heist plan and the impossibility of these characters ever being successful at anything more complex than standing in line." If you want to make up your own mind, "Tower Heist" is streaming on Netflix right now.
