Metro Manila
Oscilloscope Pictures | Release Date: August 22, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
4
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The PlaylistNikola GrozdanovicAug 18, 2014
Metro Manila is a horror story in its own unflinching way. Read full review
80
Total FilmMatt GlasbyAug 18, 2014
A moving morality tale set in a world rarely seen in western cinema, Metro Manila is an underdog drama that feels as authentic as it is original. Read full review
80
EmpireDamon WiseAug 18, 2014
Filmmaker Sean Ellis does terrific work balancing the disparate elements of his crime-laced drama. Read full review
80
The GuardianSteve RoseAug 18, 2014
It's a resourceful, distinctive film that builds to a satisfying crescendo. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinAug 18, 2014
Metro Manila is so spellbound by its setting that it is a good hour before we discover what kind of film it is going to be. It begins as a swirling drama of survival in the Filipino capital — but then suddenly it slips off down an alleyway, only to emerge a scrupulously engineered, Christopher Nolan-ish crime thriller. Read full review
70
VarietyAlissa SimonAug 18, 2014
The screenplay (co-written with Hollywood scribe Frank E. Flowers) boasts the stock characters and situations, sentimentality, foreshadowing and melodrama of soap opera. Yet by cleverly blending these ingredients with those of an action caper, the pic presents a fresher appeal. Read full review
60
The DissolveScott TobiasAug 19, 2014
It’s false as social document, often gripping as entertainment. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweAug 18, 2014
Although the pacing would have benefited from some judicious tightening, much of the film’s effectiveness is attributable to the lead actors’ well-modulated performances. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonTrevor JohnstonAug 18, 2014
Ellis’s twisty plotting gets too clever-clever for its own good. But it’s pacy, engrossing, and Jake Macapagal’s turn as the plucky schmuck protagonist is stellar. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyAug 26, 2014
The movie is a catalogue of Nolanisms translated into Tagalog and executed on a tight budget. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaAug 18, 2014
Sean Ellis doesn't so much understand Filipino society as merely sees it as grist for standard genre fare, perhaps hoping that the foreign setting will somehow automatically make the clichés feel fresh. Read full review
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