Despite its sincerity -- and the beautiful visuals -- the often-disjointed story takes too long to gain traction.
Comment
09/04/09
City of Men (2008)
75
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:76
Fresh:57
Rotten:19
Average Rating:6.7/10
Consensus: Brutal and unflinching, City of Men is both a harrowing look at Brazil's favela life, and a touching tale of youths rushed into adulthood.
Theatrical Release:Feb 29, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $242,655
Synopsis: Director Fernando Meirelles scored an unexpected hit with his disquieting 2003 feature CITY OF GOD. Subsequent years saw plenty of similar fare emerging from Brazil, and Meirelles even lent a hand... [More]
Starring: Darlan Cunha, Douglas Silva, Jonathan Haagensen, Rodrigo Dos Santos
Director: Paulo Morelli
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Reviews for City of Men
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04/23/09
A must for fans of the TV series, as it continues the unique formula of mixing fun, fantasy, fear, and frankness, for 2 young men barely surviving to adulthood together.
12/17/08
It's all perfectly serviceable -- but it wants for freshness and vitality.
10/18/08
Both Silva and Cunha (who reprise their roles from the television show) do make compelling leads and their performances add needed weight and shadings to their underwritten characters.
10/18/08
Where City of God provided a heartbreaking insight into Rio's flavelas and gang warfare . . . this film ends up more like a standard buddy movie set against a gangland battle scene
09/18/08
It's decent enough but I just wish that it tried for something a little more fresh.
07/22/08
The likable performances, hot, sweaty atmosphere and decently mounted action scenes make this entertaining fare.
07/18/08
An engaging and frequently tense drama with terrific performances from its two young leads.
07/18/08
Despite considerable dramatic interest, Morelli's loose, lengthy structure makes it a labor to hang in with.
07/05/08
More bronzed bodies bearing arms leading to inevitable shootouts delivered via a washed-out, hand-held digital style pulsing along to an infectious Latin beat.
04/02/08
The film's overriding message that love and friendship exist under the most hopeless of circumstances is what makes City of Men such a worthy, compelling drama.
03/26/08
Some might perceive City of Men as a slow film, while others could reasonably argue that Morelli is taking more time to develop characters.
03/25/08
[One] plotline ends with a twist that doubtless felt more authentic in the halls of a film school than it would on the streets of Rio de Janeiro.
03/16/08
It plays like a Western, and the violence, while plentiful and visceral, rarely has the kind of raw impact you want in a movie such as this. Morelli keeps most of the blood off-camera.
03/14/08
...not a sequel to City of God, although it sometimes feels like a junior-varsity version of the older movie.
03/14/08
An efficient, simply told story...in spite of the plot's neat contrivances and the movie's determination to pull some edifying nugget from the heartbreak and hopelessness at its core.
03/12/08
[It has] a real ring of authenticity in every scene.
03/10/08
Top CriticMorelli's film is most effective at its most documentarian, when it focuses on street detail and the casual, everyday behavior of the people inside the desperate favelas.
03/07/08
May mean well, but its soapy plot and comparatively flabby execution make for a surprisingly tepid combination.
03/02/08
Latest News for City of Men
February 28, 2008:
Exclusive Photos: City of God Sequel City of Men
Two young men struggle to stay afloat amid the drugs, violence, and poverty of Brazil's slums in the big-screen spin-off of Fernando Meirelles' critically acclaimed 2002 film,... More...
February 28, 2008:
Critics Consensus: Semi-Pro is Semi-Good, Boleyn Girl Not Quite Movie Royalty
This week at the movies, we've got hapless hoopsters, snouted socialites, and scandalous siblings. What do the critics have to say? More...
November 23, 2007:
Trailer & Poster review 
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