City of God
Miramax Films | Release Date: January 17, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
79
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
A potent and unexpected mixture of authenticity and flash -- even if this is what happened on the ground, making it worth our time on screen is just beyond the contortionist abilities of even this most acrobatic of films. Read full review
60
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
Meirelles's picture is so keen to brandish its social wrath, and its spirits are so rampagingly high, that the bruises it inflicts barely last a night. [20 January 2003, p. 94]
60
L.A. WeeklyJohn Powers
But if City of God whirs with energy for nearly its full 130-minute running time, it is oddly lacking in emotional heft for a work that aspires to the epic -- it is essentially a tarted-up exploitation picture whose business is to make ghastly things fun. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Full of action, but no soul. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
In its cinematic approach, though, the film is as slick as any Hollywood thriller, directed by Fernando Meirelles with visual flourishes - jazzy editing, lurid colors, crackling sound effects - that dilute the impact of what might have been an indelible cautionary tale. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Undeniably powerful, but also rather numbing. Read full review
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