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City of God
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Metascore
79 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.7 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 162 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Alexandre Rodrigues, Matheus Nachtergaele
  • Summary: Welcome to the world's most notorious slum: Rio de Janeiro's 'City of God.' A place where combat photographers fear to tread, where Police rarely go, and residents are lucky if they live to the age of 20. This is the true story of a young man who grew up on these streets and whose ambition as a photographer is our window in and ultimately may be him only way out. (Miramax)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Breathtaking and terrifying, urgently involved with its characters, it announces a new director of great gifts and passions: Fernando Meirelles.
  2. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Megan Lehmann
    100
    Like a bomb exploding in a fireworks factory: It's fierce and shocking and dazzling and wonderful.
  3. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: John Powers
    60
    But if City of God whirs with energy for nearly its full 130-minute running time, it is oddly lacking in emotional heft for a work that aspires to the epic -- it is essentially a tarted-up exploitation picture whose business is to make ghastly things fun.

See all 33 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 69 out of 77
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 77
  3. Negative: 4 out of 77
  1. JaySupertramp
    10
    Based on real events this Masterpiece is out of range. No drug / slum or something else movie can compare with this. It's so intimidating and disturbing, you cant believe this is true. Heavily underrated in many ways and absolutely worth the time!… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. DaveH.
    4
    Such a waste of great performances. No characters are fleshed out to the extent that they become interesting in any way. Rocket, despite being the protagonist, takes a passive, peripheral backseat to the action. The young Lil' Dice is played brilliantly and is a very convincing psychopath, but we get to know little about either him or other characters. My interest in the film wandered constantly with so much of the narrative being devoted to exposition. Inconsequential informaion about characters' history and the logistics of the favella drug circuits is divulged by the truckload while the actual story plods throughout. Dramatically hollow and inertly paced, and this is meant to be a thriller? I have no desire to see this film again.… Expand
    • 1 of 2 users said yes
  3. JerryM
    0
    The documentary featured on the DVD was far more rewarding than the actual movie. I'm in total agreement with BillR's near perfect review of this so-called film. This emperor really has no clothes.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 77 User Reviews