Critic Reviews
| 91 |
Entertainment Weekly
A muscular sequel to To's riveting 2005 gangster picture "Election."
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| 91 |
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Like the best crime stories, this one isn't about how the bad guys live, it's about how WE live.
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| 91 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Cements director's place as mob-movie master.
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| 90 |
LA Weekly
Outside of "Grindhouse," it may be the most bang for your buck to be had in a Los Angeles movie theater this season.
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| 90 |
The New York Times
More elegantly plotted and streamlined than the first film.
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| 88 |
Boston Globe
Set two years later, the sequel's the better film.
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| 80 |
Los Angeles Times
Robert Abele
Like any good sequel, this film takes what is familiar with the original's concept -- in this case, an internecine struggle for supremacy -- and deepens it.
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| 80 |
Salon.com
In To's movies no one is innocent, and the social corruption has reached down to the soul. He orchestrates action scenes with an elegance that suggests Scorsese.
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| 80 |
The Hollywood Reporter
Elizabeth Kerr
It's not all violence and brutality. To allows his morbid sense of humor to shine through. There are moments of absurd hilarity that don't necessarily lighten the mood so much as bring it down to earth. The performances are strong all around.
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| 80 |
Variety
Russell Edwards
Distinguished by intelligence, wit and violence but is lightly wounded by some ill-fitting moments.
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| 80 |
Village Voice
Michelle Orange
To's take on the plight of the modern gangste is inspired.
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| 75 |
New York Post
Nobody familiar with To will be surprised by the way he presents stylish violence in innovative and humorous ways.
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| 75 |
New York Daily News
Plenty of films owe a debt to "The Godfather," but it's rare to see inspiration used as successfully as it is here.
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| 75 |
San Francisco Chronicle
This is an extremely violent movie, with one long gory scene that's particularly hard to stomach. The great majority of Triad Election is about political maneuvering, but when the conversations end, the blood flows mightily.
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| 75 |
Portland Oregonian
If you're willing to do the work, Triad Election pays you in tragedy.
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| 70 |
Chicago Reader
Joshua Katzman
As in the first movie, To deftly references the "Godfather" trilogy, examining the moral equivocation and shifting alliances among various syndicate members.
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