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Exiled
Metascore
73 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
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  1. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    100
    The final confrontation is a slow-motion, De Palma-esque massacre in a hotel lobby that begins and ends in the amount of time it takes for a high-flying can of Red Bull to hit the floor. Breathtaking.
  2. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: M. E. Russell
    91
    Funny and weird and surprising and action-packed and genuinely beautiful.
  3. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Glenn Kenny
    88
    Exiled brings To back to lighter ground, and it's one of his most assured, enjoyable pictures, refreshing fun that's sure to satisfy anyone's action jones.
  4. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    83
    It's a fantasy of a crime epic, to be sure, but it's a glorious fantasy in which the unspoken bonds of brotherhood bathe every shootout and sacrifice in the light of myth.
  5. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Noel Murray
    83
    Nothing about Exiled is as resonant as To's best work, but it's a clever homage to Sam Peckinpah, right down to the clouds of bloody mist that fill the barroom as To's anti-heroes make their last stand.
  6. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    80
    This is an accomplished suspense-action piece that touches on universal themes of brotherhood, exile, love and honor.
  7. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Crust
    80
    To packs the moments of contemplation with as much suspense as the action sequences and is a master of ratcheting up tension through small details.
  8. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Matt Zoller Seitz
    80
    The movie is consistently engrossing and sometimes touching, thanks to its hard yet subtle characterizations and Mr. To's refusal to condescend.
  9. Newsweek
    Reviewed by: David Ansen
    80
    To blends sentimentality, shoot-outs and cool humor into a bewitchingly entertaining brew.
  10. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Fred Camper
    80
    An entertaining product that presents a powerful artistic vision.
  11. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    75
    The more you like Leone's work the more you'll likely respond to To's latest. Which is odd, considering Exiled is a gangster picture by strict definition.
  12. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    75
    A grabber from start to finish that should win new fans for cult-favorite To.
  13. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: G. Allen Johnson
    75
    Creative and bizarre, maybe too bizarre, but since most action films adhere to a cookie-cutter formula, its quirkiness is most welcome.
  14. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    75
    This intriguing story, like many tales of mid-20th-century American art, is fueled by testosterone.
  15. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    70
    I'd put To's Exiled -- into the category of Hong Kong movies that even people who think they don't care about Hong Kong movies should see.
  16. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    70
    If you've never seen a Johnnie To crime picture, Exiled is a simple, stylish, and utterly delightful introduction.
  17. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: J. Hoberman
    70
    By Hong Kong standards, To's policiers have been fairly down-to-earth, but Exiled--which begins with a tribute to Sergio Leone and ends by acknowledging Sam Peckinpah--exists solely in the world of the movies.
  18. Variety
    Reviewed by: Derek Elley
    70
    Cast of regulars blends like those in a late-on Howard Hawks' movie.
  19. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    63
    Johnnie To, the director, is highly respected in this genre, and I suppose he does it about as well as you'd want it to be done, unless you wanted acting and more coherence.
  20. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    63
    The Macao settings are beautifully rendered, and the dark humor is often very funny. But it is noisy.
  21. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Gregory Kirschling
    50
    One of those wearisome Hong Kong action movies where characters engage in Mexican standoffs not so much to ratchet up excitement or generate tension but rather to look cool for as long as possible.
  22. Empire
    Reviewed by: Kat Brown
    40
    With not enough balls to be fun, and not enough brain to be cerebral, there's not much going on behind those pained Western expressions to entertain.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.6 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 1 out of 3
  1. SabrinaM.
    6
    This picture does boast great acting, impeccable fashion sense and a taste for cinematic aesthetics, but the plot is unfortunately quite weak. Anthony Wong may have been effective in his portrayal and delivery of the "hangdog" uneasiness that characterizes the person split between loyalty to a brother and inevitable duty to perform a killing for his boss, but in general the brotherhood trail lacks a strong, coherent backbone. The exile into the sand dunes is symbolic of the film's title but sheds little contemplation on the tragedy of Wo's death, or the gangsters' inner turmoil.… Full Review »
  2. AndreP.
    1
    Couldn't sit through it, don't know how the critics did.
  3. JohnM.
    10
    This film is a masterpiece from one of film's true living masters, maddeningly following up his near-perfect Election dulogy with a near-perfect genre-blender. By the way, Metacritic has as their picture a still from Bong Joon-Ho's excellent THE HOST, not EXILED.… Full Review »
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