I don't demand that all movies make sense. I sometimes enjoy movies that make no sense whatsoever, if that's their intention. But a thriller is supposed to hold together in some sort of logical way, isn't it?

Some individual sequences -- including a car chase early in the film - have the lunatic humor that might have made the rest of the film bearable, though probably nothing would justify the film's final blood bath.

The structure is a mess (the film was recut against Peckinpah's wishes), which ultimately makes it difficult to tell whether its oddly compelling qualities are the result of a coherent artistic strategy or the cynical carelessness of a director sidelined.

…a misunderstood classic; The Osterman Weekend has certainly got a remarkable array of talent on show, and a prescient surveillance/conspiracy theme…should be prime real estate for a modern update…