Absolutely damn brilliant. Know going in, this isn't "Slumdog Millionaire" , this is a cold dose of ice water thrown in your face abut America. IT's spare, gritty and realistic.It's also beautiful. There isn't a giant plot to hang a bunch of phony drama on , just the drama of unrelenting everyday life. Brilliant.

Listen. It doesn't have a exact hollywood narrative or feel, but that shouldn't be a knock against the film. There are countless ways to tell a story, this one has more compassion for it's young characters then anything coming from a big studio. It's not perfect but I guarantee the subject and the world are riveting. IF we can feel for 3d robots/cars, why not for this youngster?… Expand

This movie is probably more like a 6.5, but I was feeling a little generous tonight. There's a lot to like about Chop Shop, especially the acting and grittiness of the cinematography. Ultimately though, I felt like the characters needed more development. Maybe more back story or more insight into the relationship of Alejandro and Isamar? Either way, I needed to care more about them and to understand more about the world in which they struggle to live in. The minimal feel of the movie works, but a more substantial ending would have been a nice counterbalance to the slow, introspective pace. Good, not great.… Collapse

Disappointing; being the top rated dvd in metacritic i expected something amazing. instead i felt like this was filmmaking for the sake of the filmmaker; not for the audience. Some great imagery, but generally pointless.

Bahrani's portrayal of the Bronx and urban life is amazing, but there's too much lacking to make it a successful story. The actors feel young and palpably directed, and the plot lumps along until the end, missing on what should be its climax. A documentary treatment of the Bronx would have been as vivid, and come off with more authenticity in characters. No seriously.