However, a number of critics found more value in the film. Most notably, movie critic Roger Ebert awarded the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, praising it as "an ambitious, introspective movie" that has "many characters all drawn with care and dimension", calling it Dickerson's "best work to date, with the complexity of serious fiction and the nerve to start dark and stay dark, to follow the logic of its story right down to its inevitable end." Elvis Mitchell, writing for "The New York Times", praised Dickerson for adding "street-corner majesty" to his direction and Libatique's "furious, high-contrast diffusion" cinematography for "elevating the look from a mere reiteration of music video fare", calling it "a riveting genre film that neatly exhibits the director's growing assurance – Donald Goines would be proud." "Entertainment Weekly"s Owen Gleiberman gave the film a "B-" grade, saying that despite the overall framing of the plot being "facile and second-rate", he gave praise to Dickerson for being "the rare filmmaker who can show the attraction — and degradation — of the criminal life without exploiting it."