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Slumdog Millionaire
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Metascore
86 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 36 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 423 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto
  • Summary: Slumdog Millionaire is the story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show’s questions. Intrigued by Jamal’s story, the jaded Police Inspector begins to wonder what a young man with no apparent desire for riches is really doing on this game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out… (Fox Searchlight)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    This is a breathless, exciting story, heartbreaking and exhilarating at the same time.
  2. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    100
    A terrific yarn, one so engrossing and surprising that the nature of the story's structure -- each question Jamal gets asked on the show corresponds with a traumatic or momentous moment from his childhood -- never feels like a contrived framing device.
  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    50
    Doesn't hit its stride until the last 30 minutes, and by then, it's just a little too late.

See all 36 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 131 out of 177
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 177
  3. Negative: 24 out of 177
  1. heyitsmegrif4
    9
    Slumdog millionaire does suffer from some silly dialogue, but the film is beautifully filmed, mighty, wondrous, romantic and just fantastically acted. It deserves its Oscar. I give this film 87%.… Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  2. DK
    5
    Eye-rollingly formulaic. This one wins the "Pan's Labyrinth" critically overrated film of the year award. Today's filmmakers have no clue how to tell a compelling story. Just another style over substance fluff-job.… Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  3. SylviaV
    2
    A huge letdown considering all the hype! Apart from being visually impressive and having a few mildly entertaining moments, this movie is confusing at best and pointless, naive and overblown at worst. I mean, the 2 main characters that are supposed to be deeply in love never even exchange a proper sentence, and the character of Jamal Malik is as blank as a sheet of paper. Not to mention that the point of the story completely escapes me...unless the point is depicting all the worst horrors of Indian poverty just to elicit the shock and pity of the white, Western viewer comfortably seated in a cinema chair with lots popcorn in his hand. I am forced to conclude that this is one of the main reasons why this movie got so many awards- to appease social consciousness. It seems that by patching graphic scenes of poverty and violence onto a pointless, confusing plot and a set of faceless characters, we come to what is, today, considered a highly acclaimed movie.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 177 User Reviews

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