Monsters and Men
| Release Date: September 28, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
9
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The Hollywood ReporterDavid Rooney
Monsters and Men is a robust ensemble piece in which every performer finds subtle shadings in characters fully embedded in a realistic milieu. It's a smart, urgently relevant movie that marks an impressive upgrade from his acclaimed short films for writer-director Green. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawJan 17, 2019
There is humanity and complexity in this welcome movie, as well as muscular power and unreconciled anger. Read full review
80
Rolling StonePeter TraversSep 27, 2018
Green sometimes hits his points too hard, letting his fierce human drama drift into polemic. But there’s no denying the righteous indignation that fuels Monsters and Men, a powerhouse that couldn’t be more timely or necessary. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangSep 26, 2018
The result, while fragmented by design, is a politically astute, emotionally layered examination of a violent death and its lingering psychic residue. Read full review
80
UproxxMike Ryan
Monsters and Men is at the once depressing and hopeful. And for the life of me, I can’t believe Reinaldo Marcus Green had the guts to make this. Read full review
80
Vanity FairRichard Lawson
Though all three sections of the film have didactic bits when big ideas are plainly stated, the bulk of Monsters and Men renders huge issues with a fluid understatement. But that disarming pensiveness and interiority doesn’t forget the anger and sadness of the story—instead, it somehow heightens it, affording these characters a grounded texture that casts their struggles in a piercingly humane light. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 10, 2018
Green’s film is about a tragedy, born in a time of great national stress. It’s not without its flaws, but it’s an absolutely riveting piece of movie-making, one you can be sure Jean Renoir would appreciate. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattSep 28, 2018
Reinaldo Marcus Green’s quiet drama still carries its own kind of big stick, even if the story’s impact is ultimately muffled by his meditative, low-key style. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubJoshua AlstonSep 28, 2018
Green’s graceful direction and keen ear for dialogue certainly make him a new filmmaker to watch, and it’ll be fascinating to see what he does with a more focused narrative. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comNick AllenSep 28, 2018
Excels when it dives into the complications of race and authority, articulated vividly by three excellent lead performances. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoSep 26, 2018
There’s much of value to be had along the way to a nicely handled ending. It would be a mistake to call it a surprise, but it’s something that few viewers are likely to expect. Read full review
75
IndieWireEric Kohn
The movie not only illustrates the power of modern activism; in its final moments, it becomes such an act itself. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisSep 27, 2018
Turning black-white conflict into a laudably complex wash of gray, Mr. Green (inspired in part by a conversation he had with a police officer about the 2014 death of Eric Garner) favors reason over outrage. The political heat rises but the movie stays cool, its smooth, smart climax in keeping with its levelheaded tone. Read full review
70
Screen Daily
With strong performances, smart directorial choices and an unexpected story structure, Monsters and Men transcends its run-of-the-mill Law & Order-like premise. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenOct 3, 2018
It’s a visceral fear that’s filmed in a way that forces the viewer to undergo the emotion along with the character. Read full review
60
Little White LiesKatherine McLaughlinJul 27, 2023
It starts an important discussion but doesn’t dig deep enough. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Simran HansJan 22, 2019
Inevitably, some chapters work better than others but it’s an interesting, sideways look at how violence can serve as a catalyst rather than a climax and how it can change – and galvanise – a community. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaSep 26, 2018
Monsters and Men, then, functions more as a lightly fictionalized photo essay than a narrative film — which is okay, it just means that it feeds more off timeliness than character or art, and there are obvious limitations to that. Read full review
60
TheWrapRobert AbeleSep 26, 2018
Though Monsters and Men isn’t the most fully realized work, its innate intelligence and matter-of-fact sensitivity are the kinds of storytelling assets we need more of, especially when the fabric of life for many continues to fray and tear in ways that demand a larger societal reassessing. Read full review
58
The Film StageJared MobarakSep 14, 2018
The film doesn’t supply easy answers and also has its characters making some unsurprising choices in ways that let us know how much it will haunt them. Even with this sense of complexity, however, Monsters and Men still can’t stop itself from dipping too far into hyperbolic moments made more powerful by artifice than they ultimately prove. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyApril WolfeSep 26, 2018
Monsters and Men seems as if it was made for the world that existed a few years ago. I honestly can’t tell if my dissatisfaction is with the movie or the era into which it is released. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChuck BowenSep 24, 2018
Like many films tackling socially inflammatory material, Monsters and Men is constrained by its politics. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter Debruge
Mixing “gritty” handheld camerawork with an almost zen-like kind of restraint, Green’s approach is frustratingly thin on the kind of specifics that make for rich drama, leaving audiences to fill in the gaps. Read full review
50
The PlaylistJordan Ruimy
Despite its ambitions, Monsters and Men makes its weighty subject matter feels thin and slight. Read full review
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