64
Metascore
5 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70Boxoffice MagazineJohn P. McCarthyBoxoffice MagazineJohn P. McCarthyTirador ’s frenetic style and locale will remind many viewers of Fernando Meirelles’ much-admired City of God.
- 70Village VoiceVillage VoiceThough one misses cinematographer Oydssey Flores's camerawork that played such an important role on the three subsequent films--at once more chaotic and more expressive than the digital shooting here--Mendoza's look at the illicit activity of a group of marginal Filipinos is no less feverishly absorbing.
- 70The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisPortrayed entirely without sentiment, everyone here is equally abject, from the crushed victim of a human stampede to the starving baby playing in its own feces. The mood of scrambling desperation can be exhausting, but the filmmaking is never less than exhilarating.
- 60Time OutTime OutOne can maintain the energy and patience for donnybrooks and general insanity only so long.
- 50VarietyVarietySupplies no end of shock, but an underdeveloped emotional core keeps the viewer at arm's length.