Later writings about the film have been generally positive. Both the British film magazine "Empire" and film database Allmovie gave the film five stars, their highest ratings. Allmovie's Lucia Bozzola wrote, "Complete with carefully modulated over-the-top performances from the entire cast, "Raising Arizona" confirmed the Coens' place among the most distinctive filmmakers to emerge from the 1980s independent cinema", while Caroline Westbrook of "Empire" declared it a "hilarious, madcap comedy from the Coen brothers that demonstrates just why they are the kings of quirk". Bilge Ebiri considers "Raising Arizona" to be "the Coens' masterpiece — their funniest movie, and quite possibly their most poignant as well". The Dutch magazine "Vrij Nederland" placed its bank robbery scene second on their list of "the 5 best bank robberies in film history", behind a bank robbery scene from the 1995 thriller "Heat". Actor Simon Pegg described the film as "a living, breathing Looney Tunes cartoon" during a BFI screening. Pegg's friend and frequent collaborator Edgar Wright has stated that "Raising Arizona" is his favorite film of all time. Likewise, Spike Lee put "Raising Arizona" on his "Essential Films" list.