Brother
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: July 20, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
10
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
If nothing else, Brother confirms Kitano's stature as the most original purveyor of on-screen mayhem since Sam Peckinpah. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
It's a romantic fantasy of the gangster brotherhood and their doomed lives, executed with Takeshi's unique mix of stoic ruthlessness and giddy energy. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
Kitano's most enjoyable, flat-out fun movie, provided you can stomach the violence. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Mr. Kitano directed, edited and wrote Brother -- and his style of close-to-the-vest brutality travels extremely well. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyManohla Dargis
Brother is a solid return to gangster form for Kitano, who knows how to transcend the most overly familiar genre clichés without betraying the rules of engagement. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
A wizard at manipulating time, Kitano introduces staccato elements that interrupt the meditative pace even as they help set it. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
When it works, which is often, Kitano's movie is an anthropology of the distinctions between Japanese yakuza and American gangsters. Read full review
60
Mr. ShowbizMichael Atkinson
Sags, lollygags, and blusters too much to sustain the what-the-hell momentum that Kitano achieves in his best movies.
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Delivers some powerful emotional wallops alongside the chopsticks-up-the-nose violence, and manages the remarkable feat of making venerable American genre conventions seem eerily alien. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Enough odd twists to be mildly interesting. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneLoren King
Disappointingly hollow.
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A typical Kitano film in many ways, but not one of his best ones. Too many of the killing scenes have a casual, perfunctory tone. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Cool killers - Kitano's stock in trade - do not necessarily make for cool movies. Read full review
50
New Times (L.A.)Andy Klein
While Brother may be the perfect introduction for Kitano newcomers, longtime fans may find it superfluous and even a step down from the likes of Hana-Bi (1997) and Sonatine (1993). Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
Beat Takeshi fans wouldn't think of missing this one. Moviegoers who hate violence wouldn't be caught dead at it. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It's rougher stuff than most would expect, though not unrewarding in its own horrific way. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesGene Seymour
While Yamamoto's bullets never miss, Kitano's attempt at tragic grandeur of "Godfather"-esque proportions misses to an almost embarrassing degree. Read full review
38
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Takeshi's elliptical directorial style here is overwhelmed by the script's crudeness and lack of narrative power. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Wretch of a B movie. Read full review
30
VarietyDavid Rooney
The mix feels flat and the story remains a fairly banal account of underworld exploits whose emotional gears never fully engage. Read full review
25
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Critics tend to fawn over the Japanese director-star Takeshi Kitano (a.k.a. Beat Takeshi), but am I the only one who finds his films impossible to make heads or tails of? Read full review
20
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Watching this movie, you also have to ask yourself: Just how many acts of self-inflicted finger amputations do I really want to see? Read full review
10
Washington PostRita Kempley
Bewildering, tediously violent. Read full review
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