Critical reception
The Mexican holds a 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 133 reviews, with an average rating of 5.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Though The Mexican makes a good attempt at originality, its ponderous length makes it wear out its welcome. Also, those looking forward to seeing Roberts and Pitt paired up may end up disappointed, as they are kept apart for most of the movie." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 43 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Additionally, audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette praised the film, stating, "The scenes between Roberts and Gandolfini make the film special. ... Their dialogue scenes are the best reason to see the film."
The Doylestown Intelligencer remarked, "Pitt and Roberts are good too – maybe better like this than if they were together. ... If it had been a Pitt/Roberts two-hander, there wouldn't have been room for Gandolfini's wonderful character, and that would have been a shame."
The Titusville Herald commented, "The Mexican is sporadically entertaining. It works when Gandolfini is on screen; when he leaves, he takes the movie with him. ... From here, director Gore Verbinski intercuts between two road movies, one of which (the one with Pitt) is downright boring."
The Edmonton Journal observed, "Moviegoers who have seen The Mexican aren't coming out of cinemas talking about the romantic chemistry between Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt. They're talking about the presence of tough guy James Gandolfini in the unlikely role of a gay hitman named Leroy."
The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin stated, "Roberts and Pitt are generally terrific. In The Mexican they are horrid. ... Gandolfini is a star on the rise. His work in The Mexican is solid. Frankly, he's the only bright spot in this dark and pointless movie."
