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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Herod's Law

EMAILPRINTVenevision International

Herod's Law reviews
64
10.0 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 11 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 6 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Mystery

Written by: Luis Estrada (also story)
Vicente Leñero
Jaime Sampietro (also story)
Fernando Javier León Rodríguez (story)

Directed by: Luis Estrada

Release Date:
Theatrical: June 13, 2003
DVD: February 3, 2004

Running Time: 120 minutes, Color

Origin: Mexico

Summary

RATING: Not Rated

Starring Damián Alcázar, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Delia Casanova, Juan Carlos Colombo, Alex Cox, Isela Vega, and Leticia Huijara

This dark comic fable is a satire of the inevitability of political corruption in 1940's Mexico.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

A bombshell in its home country, Herod's Law is made with the kind of flair that ensures a following everywhere politicians are venal and voters hope against hope for deliverance.

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88

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Incisive, highly entertaining political farce.

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80

Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf

Smart, sassy and much more fun than most political diatribes.

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80

Variety Leonardo Garcia Tsao

Provocative, well-shot and vastly entertaining in its malice.

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80

LA Weekly John Patterson

A bracingly sarcastic political comedy -- it opens on a bound copy of Mexico's Constitution, stuffed with cash -- possessed of a baleful satiric eye for hypocrisy and greed, a delicious anti-clerical bent, and pitch-perfect comic timing.

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75

Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt

Estrada can be faulted for not fully developing these supporting characters, or for not weaving them seamlessly into his story. His eye all along is so clearly and surely on The Point that at times plot details and peripheral performances are washed over.

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70

Chicago Reader Ted Shen

Estrada references Welles throughout with his low-angle deep-focus shots, grotesque close-ups, and brassy sound track. The actors are uniformly excellent, embracing their arch roles without succumbing to caricature.

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50

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The film is bold and passionate, but not subtle, and that is its downfall.

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50

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

Suffers from its enthusiasm, so fueled by anger and emotion that storytelling grows clouded. Irreverence gives way to polemic, then to an orgy of violence.

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40

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

The angrier the film gets, the less funny it becomes, squelched by heavy-handed polemics, a maddeningly repetitive musical score, and a running time that drags its overriding joke into the ground.

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40

Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman

It’s too didactic to be a spaghetti Western but lacks the moral compass required of a more evolved philosophical statement.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 10.0 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

greg h. gave it a10:
Very interesting movie, i enjoyed it all the way thru. It was an eye opener as far as whats going in the world. it is a must see.

Uncle Scoopy gave it a10:
Tremendous film.

[Anonymous] gave it a10:
Great movie funny, intelligent, and very well done.

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