The Hurricane | Rotten Tomatoes (2025)

83% Tomatometer 115 Reviews 87% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings

Denzel Washington is Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a man whose dreams of winning the middleweight boxing title were destroyed when he was arrested along with another man for the murders of 3 people in a New Jersey bar. Wrongfully accused, Carter and John Artis were sentenced to 3 life terms in prison.

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The Hurricane

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Critics Consensus

Thanks in large part to one of Denzel Washington's most powerful on-screen performances, The Hurricane is a moving, inspirational sports drama, even if it takes few risks in telling its story.

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The Hurricane | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Nell Minow Common Sense Media Denzel dazzles in biopic of imprisoned boxer. Rated: 4/5 Dec 24, 2010 Full Review The Hurricane | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Time Out Facile and unpersuasive. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review The Hurricane | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Peter Rainer New York Magazine/Vulture The movie's dogged humorlessness, and its sixties-style cant, don't do justice to all the political crosscurrents in this story. Aug 7, 2004 Full Review The Hurricane | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand ... Jewison’s most passionate work in years; his indignation powers the film. Mar 8, 2024 Full Review The Hurricane | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Chuck Klosterman Akron Beacon Journal There are a handful of scenes that Washington carries all by himself, but the rest of The Hurricane is an ill-constructed failure. It's slow and poorly written, and -- somehow -- it's a non-fiction story that often feels unrealistic Rated: 2/4 Oct 27, 2023 Full Review The Hurricane | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Tony Black Cultural Conversation A powerful case of injustice lacking punch. Rated: 3/5 Feb 16, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Dan L Denzel at his finest, an actor that consistently exhibits his acting range. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/14/24 Full Review Viola O I don't know how they didn't give him the Oscar, in the isolation scene I had the chills not to mention when he says to his wife to divorce from him Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/15/24 Full Review K B Simply beautiful, warming, frustrating, and immaculate. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/16/24 Full Review Audience Member Fighting for the right to liveThe performance by Denzel Washington in this Spike Lee movie was very effective, despite expectations. The horrors of the reality that this is based on a true story are troubling, but the story and plot deliver us through the telling of a story about the problems of society and the need to remain strong through the roughest of them. I saw this movie while I was expelled from my high school for a fistfight which happened in the hallway. It taught me a lot about life at the time, and Denzel's performance is great. The soundtrack is amazing as well, and a lot of people pooled together to tell this true story. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review dave s By no stretch of the imagination is Norman Jewison's The Hurricane a perfect movie. For one, the secondary characters all seem a bit shallow. What made Detective Della Pesca (Dan Hedaya) the hateful and vindictive man that he was? Who exactly are these three Canadians who came to the rescue of Ruben Carter and what the hell is their relationship to each other? Another problem is an abundance of stilted dialogue that manages to suck the energy out of a lot of the scenes. However, the story itself is fascinating and Denzel Washington gives a powerful performance as the wrongly convicted ‘Hurricane' Carter. Washington's performance alone makes The Hurricane worth watching. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member As a film “The Hurricane” is affecting enough, but despite Carter’s innocence in the crime that put him in prison, the filmmakers ignore Carter’s violent incidents while on bail and present invented persecutions from fictional characters. The film would have been interesting enough if done honestly. Rated 1.5/5 Stars • Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 04/12/21 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Norman Jewison Director Denzel Washington Rubin "Hurricane" Carter Vicellous Reon Shannon Lesra Martin Deborah Kara Unger Lisa Peters Liev Schreiber Sam Chaiton John Hannah Terry Swinton
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Synopsis Denzel Washington is Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a man whose dreams of winning the middleweight boxing title were destroyed when he was arrested along with another man for the murders of 3 people in a New Jersey bar. Wrongfully accused, Carter and John Artis were sentenced to 3 life terms in prison.

Director
Norman Jewison

Producer
Armyan Bernstein, Norman Jewison, John Ketcham

Screenwriter
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Sam Chaiton, Terry Swinton, Armyan Bernstein, Dan Gordon

Distributor
Universal Pictures

Production Co
Universal Pictures, Beacon Communications, Azoff Entertainment

Rating
R (Violence|Language)

Genre
Drama

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 14, 2000, Wide

Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 12, 2014

Box Office (Gross USA)
$50.7M

Runtime
2h 26m

Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS

Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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