Dead or Alive
Metascore
49 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 9
  3. Negative: 2 out of 9
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  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    88
    I've seen three or four other movies by Miike, and I can tell you that he's one of the most exciting, versatile directors working today.
  2. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    75
    Takashi is a master of the jagged quick cut and the shocker finish, and his head-spinning story is pumped up with almost more bravado than a single screen can handle.
  3. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    70
    Everything about Takashi Miike's brilliant and blood-soaked crime thriller comes as a shock.
  4. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: John Petrakis
    63
    Ultimately a disappointment because it refuses to take any aspect of itself seriously.
  5. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Lisa Alspector
    60
    It's marvelous or unwatchable.
  6. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Bob Graham
    50
    This is no-holds-barred filmmaking. Some viewers will find it disgusting. Others will call the director's bluff.
  7. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Mark Olsen
    40
    Not for the squeamish (a guy rips out his own arm, for goodness' sake), the film is nevertheless more than just a gonzo gross-out. But not by much.
  8. New Times (L.A.)
    Reviewed by: Andy Klein
    30
    While the whole is diverting, the ending's utter repudiation of reality seems like pissing on the audience; -- we feel like we've been suckers for bothering to care about the characters at all.
  9. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    20
    A soulless compilation of thrills.

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