Carlos
IFC Films | Release Date: October 15, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
94
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 21 Critics
Positive:
21
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezDec 30, 2010
Part of the accomplishment of Carlos is the sheer accumulation of detail the movie amasses, and the longer running time gives you a deeper sense of the terrorist lifestyle, and when and why Ilich gradually succumbed to ego and self-glorification without realizing it. Read full review
100
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesDec 7, 2010
I haven't seen the shorter version, but I would hate to lose one moment of the gripping 66-minute sequence-really the heart of the movie-in which Carlos plots and executes his spectacular 1975 raid on the meeting of OPEC ministers in Vienna. Read full review
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyOct 21, 2010
A preening terrorist for the Me generation, his primary drive was vanity and his main professional asset an absence of empathy. Read full review
100
Time OutJoshua Rothkopf
Though it runs an epic five-and-a-half hours (it was made for French TV), Carlos books like no film since "Goodfellas." You will not be bored, ever. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesBetsy Sharkey
Hypnotic and sprawling five-hour-plus piece of cinematic genius. Read full review
100
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
One of the high points of last month's Telluride Film Festival was, as I wrote at the time, spending 5½ hours in a darkened theater-with one short break around the four-hour mark-to watch Olivier Assayas's shocking and edifying epic. Read full review
100
Village VoiceRob Nelson
Carlos is nevertheless a movie that one can somehow remember vividly for months. Much of this power is due to the whiplash widescreen cinematography (oft-mistaken for DV), the hopped-up editing, and, not least, Ramirez's aptly arrogant, fully transfixing, Method-style turn. Read full review
100
VarietyJustin Chang
Bravura narrative filmmaking on a hugely ambitious scale, Carlos is a spectacular achievement. Read full review
100
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
It's a tremendously absorbing blend of history, journalism and drama. As soon as it was over, I wanted to watch it again. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Carlos is mostly tense and thrilling, revealing the poisonous side of global citizenship. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
Shot by shot, scene by scene, it's a fluid and enthralling piece of work. I wasn't bored for a millisecond. Read full review
90
MovielineStephanie Zacharek
It's a tricky feat, channeling the glamour of a famous international terrorist without glamorizing him. But damned if French filmmaker Olivier Assayas doesn't pull it off with Carlos. Read full review
90
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Like the convictions of some born into religious families, his (Carlos) Marxism seems more a matter of habit than faith. What seems to turn him on is power, which, the movie suggests, he nurtured alongside his luxe tastes. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterRay Bennett
It is a tremendous achievement that shines a light on the way many countries use criminals to further their domestic and international goals. Politically informative, it also offers great drama with excitement and suspense, and no little tragedy. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrOct 28, 2010
Carlos moves like a greyhound out of the gate, fleet and assured and focused on the business at hand. It's a subtle, ultimately staggering portrayal of a bloody-minded ideologue who convinced only himself. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
The movie crawls hypnotically into the skin of this global assassin and astonishes you with its brazenly violent and sexual audacity. Read full review
85
NPRMark Jenkins
Most of the dialogue is invented, but the sweep of events is genuine. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
A rivetingly journalistic account of a scoundrel's rise and fall. Read full review
80
EmpireSam Toy
Ramirez's outstanding performance and Assayes' superb skill in storytelling make this a mini-series not to be missed. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Assayas - whose previous work, though noteworthy, never hinted at this kind of ambition - gives the film a journalistic quality, while admitting that only a recombination of facts and fiction could do the story justice. It certainly results in explosive viewing. Read full review
75
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Carlos is exciting entertainment, even if its subject's two-decade reign of terror is reprehensible. Read full review
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