The Coen brothers’ follow-up to their Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men is drawing decidedly divided reviews after its Venice Film Festival premiere.

Reuters reports on the initial reaction to Joel and Ethan Coen’s new spy comedy, Burn After Reading, here. The story quotes a decidedly negative review in Variety:

The Coen brothers‘ latest film, the madcap comedy "Burn After Reading," has sharply divided the critics, unlike last year’s acclaimed "No Country For Old Men" which won four Oscars including best picture. . . .

Trade paper Variety panned the comic spy spoof, calling it a "flame-out."

"Nothing about the project’s execution inspires the feeling that this was ever intended as anything more than a lark, which would be fine if it were a good one," wrote Todd McCarthy. "As it is, audience teeth-grinding sets in early and never lets up."

Another critic, by contrast, thought it absolutely brilliant:

At the other end of the scale was Screen International’s Lee Marshall, who called the movie "a beautifully produced mix of spy story, U.S. zeitgeist satire and relationship drama.

Still another critic found it to have what I would note is a common flaw of Coen brothers films: great talent put to inept use:

Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter, in a mixed review, calls "Burn" "a minor piece of silliness with all the trappings of an A-list studio movie."

I suspect that the film will be mildly enjoyable but far from a classic. We’ll let you know more when we see it.