Most critics respond warmly to Jarmusch’s offbeat hitman film, praising its dry humour and unusual combination of Mafia culture, samurai codes and hip-hop. Forest Whitaker is the clearest point of agreement: the reviews repeatedly single out his stillness, gravity and presence as reasons to care about an otherwise absurd character. The music also draws praise, while the more enthusiastic accounts find wit and affection in the film’s treatment of honour and professionalism.
The reservations concern how much these eccentricities add up to, with responses ranging from warm appreciation to outright disappointment. Several critics find the storytelling thin or uneven, and Sight and Sound argues that the cultural themes receive lazy treatment through stereotypes. Variety is the strongest dissenter, finding charm in individual scenes but little dramatic depth in the whole; the broader divide is over whether the playful mixture offers insight or merely sustains an amusing conceit.