Viva Riva!
Music Box Films | Release Date: June 10, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertAug 17, 2011
A slick, exciting, well-made crime thriller, dripping with atmosphere. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc MohanJun 9, 2011
Digitally shot, the film looks great, and the performances ooze charisma. The biggest star, though, may be Kinshasa itself, a roiling, barely cohesive sea of humanity that seems as if it could serve as a backdrop for some fascinating films for years to come. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleJun 9, 2011
As gut-punch storytelling, Viva Riva! delivers much, not the least of which is the promise of an exciting new filmmaking talent. Read full review
80
Time OutEric HynesJun 7, 2011
The first major motion picture to come out of Congo in decades happens to be one of the best neonoirs from anywhere in recent memory. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterMaggie LeeJun 6, 2011
Driven by its charismatic upstart gangster protagonist Riva, the film is one joyride that knows it will careen into a spectacular crash. Djo Tunda wa Munga captures the particular vibe released by this mixture of carpe diem and self-destructive instinct. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenAug 4, 2011
Martin Scorsese, meet Djo Tunda Wa Munga, because you obviously have a lot in common. Viva Riva! is nothing less than the Congolese Mean Streets, oozing sexual heat and brute violence and powered by a locomotive's worth of raw kinetic energy. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubAlison WillmoreJun 9, 2011
Frenetic, sleazy, and entertaining as all hell, Viva Riva! is a stylish and (save for the NC-17 it'd certainly earn) multiplex-worthy crime drama from, of all unexpected places, the Democratic Republic Of The Congo. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderAndrea GronvallAug 18, 2011
Directed by Djo Tunda Wa Munga, who studied filmmaking in Belgium, this is raw, sardonic, and formally complex. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisJun 9, 2011
Repackaging the revenge thriller in parakeet colors and distinctive African beats, the Congolese writer and director Djo Tunda Wa Munga gives Viva Riva! a playful sensuality that goes a long way toward disguising formula. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrJul 7, 2011
Writer-director Djo Tunda Wa Munga deplores the corruption, gunplay, and oversexed misogyny plaguing his country - and he's going to show you as much of it as possible before the end credits roll. Read full review
60
EmpirePhilip WildingJun 20, 2011
On the basis of this expertly engineered crime thriller Djo Munga is a director going places. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazineTim CogshellJun 15, 2011
It takes from American gangster classics ("White Heat" and both "Scarface" films come to mind) but its unique setting and underlying themes give it distinction. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoJun 23, 2011
A fast-moving Congolese crime thriller loaded with graphic sex and violence - basically an exploitation picture. But it's hard to surrender to the gritty flow because the story is stitched together from such crushingly familiar bits. Read full review
50
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonJun 7, 2011
The first from the Democratic Republic of Congo to be distributed in the U.S. That in itself is worthy of some kind of celebration, even if Viva Riva! too lazily indulges in shapeless genre excess. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJun 10, 2011
Unfortunately, despite the sweaty, tense atmosphere, Viva Riva becomes derivative of the duller scenes in other gangster flicks. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineIlya TovbisJun 9, 2011
The near-slapstick escapes sit uneasily with the raw bits of very adult sex and cringe-worthy close-ups of brutality that dominate the rest of the proceedings. Read full review
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