User reviews

To sum it up in one word: overrated.

Let's face it, the story isn't anything new (I know most things have been done before, but still). There's no shortage of films depicting the lives of gangsters from their slow steady rise, to that inescapable fall. What's new here is the fact that we're dealing with kids. It certainly is a different take on a familiar plot, but otherwise there are no surprises. For most of the film, it's various gang members shooting each other when they're not busy doing robberies and drugs.

One of the arguments for this film being a classic is that the actors are amateurs and that they are "real". OK, if that's what they want to show - do a documentary about them instead of trying to gloss it up with fancy visuals and editing. The latter has also been praised to great extent. My question is: why? There's nothing here that isn't in every other film these days, and certainly nothing that warrants that extra high rating. It only detracts from the story, making the characters all the less believable.

It seems like the subject matter (i.e. the horrible conditions under which these kids live - and the fact that it's foreign) has influenced viewers into thinking that the film is somehow better than it actually is. It's really nothing more than a typical genre movie. What's best about the film, and not often mentioned, are some very entertaining humorous scenes that you'd not expect to find in a film like this. [4/10]

I just watched this one and I just sat there watching 130 minutes of kids playing Indian vs. Cowboy with real guns. I did not get a single thread of emotional bonding with the characters or any of the events. This belittles all of what happens in the movie and even manages to reduce the most dramatic scene of the movie(initiation of a new member into the gang) to nothing more then one more kid shooting a gun.

The story is sad but nothing original. Rise and Fall of gangsters, rivalry over territory and someone who managed to stay sane amidst all this. Kudo's for some of the camera work and directing but thats about it.

Oh and please will somebody tell Meirelles that guns actually have recoils and not just say bang and flash a bright light. The scene of Ze returning to the brothel to 'have some fun' almost made me laugh if I wasn't crying for the pathetic efforts of gun-effects.

The fact that this film has such great reviews makes me like it even less. The script is just poor. The dialogue is awful and I found myself getting more and more bored as it went on. There is no emotion whatsoever. Characters get the bare minimum of development before meeting a brutal end. And the writers repeat this throughout the film. There is simply nothing about this film that I could latch on to in order to keep me engaged. If you're expecting a masterpiece as the 8.6 rating suggests then you're going to be underwhelmed.

One more mediocre film that is over-rated, I can't understand at all why this film is being considered a masterpiece receiving such high ratings. For me the top 250 films list of the IMDb has ceased to have any validity when it comes to deciding what films to watch, time and again I was let down. Some films in it are good but many are terrible.

I found the plot to be very muddled and shallow and the story difficult to follow due to the large number of new characters that kept appearing in the film often for a short time.

I gave it 4/10 despite the confusing shallow story because it does show the painful realities of grinding poverty in Brazil and how it even compromises the innocence of children with hard drugs and serious violence. Otherwise I would have given it just 1/10.

This is easily one of the most overrated films I have ever seen. Nonstop violence and glorifying a lifestyle that is disgusting. Yeah, there are terrible consequences to these people, but for over two hours we have to watch human after human be massacred. It all just seems so pointless. It's well-made and beautifully photographed, but I hated almost every minute of it.

I want to like this movie but it just takes itself a bit too seriously.

It's a vivid depiction of poverty where there is a serious civil war going on just beneath the surface of a vibrant city, with its own elaborate politics. The sense of place and local colour is stunning.

It goes on a while without a lot of wild developments. For a palate more refined than mine it's probably very enjoyable, but I couldn't personally recommend it.

The city of God Is a violent film that takes place in Latin America which has a very interesting take on what it was like during the drug wars in Brazil and other South American countries. Watching this film and listening to the actors talk in their native language allowed us to really hear the emotion and passion that was made into the film. Personally I felt that the use of Rocket, the main character as a photographer, was able to capture some of the worst and best moments of the lives of the story that the movie was based on. The lens at which we get to see the movie through is one that definitely allows the viewers to realize how truly violent it was during this time.

Throughout the film The actors allow us to not only see what it's like to live during this time period in the city of God, but we can also feel what it's like to live in such a harsh environment not knowing if today is going to be your last day. Listening to gunshots in almost every other scene sets the perspective of how often the shootings are during this time and it really makes you wonder just how terrible it was to live during this time. In each of the scenes we can see that there is garbage scattered everywhere in almost every scene, which can allow the viewers to imagine how awful the smell could have been during this time as well as just witnessing how horrible each of the actors smelled as they were grimy and dirty. Overall this movie is definitely worth watching at least once to understand what it was like during Latin America to give more understanding to the culture in Latin america.

'City of God' might be regarded by many critics as one of the greatest films of all time, but with all the violence, drugs, gangsterism, and sadistic killings, this made for a very unpleasant watch.

The film is being narrated by Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues). He lives in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, far away from the glamour you see on postcards. He lives in a neighbourhood called 'City of God' - a lawless place where criminals rule. Apart from gangsters, there are kids with guns, killing in cold blood without conscience. And then there's the drugs. Lots of it.

Rocket's brother Goose is part of the Tender Trio, together with Shaggy and Clipper. Shaggy's younger brother, Benny, and Benny's friend L'il Dice hang out with the Tender Trio despite them being much younger. From this young age L'il Dice came up with ideas on how to pull off crime, thus becoming an asset to the Tender Trio.

The acting from the entire cast was very natural, so much so that it almost felt like I was watching a documentary and not an actual movie. The photography and editing are also excellent. It was inspiring to see Rocket wanting to rise above his milieu. With little hope for the future for the residents of City of God, he had dreams of becoming a photographer, and followed his passion.

Regardless of 'City of God' being a top rated movie, well scripted, and well acted, I was becoming bored with the film and actually couldn't wait for it to end. There was just too much violence reminding me of real life. This is a very depressing movie, and I don't mean sad; I just mean depressing to watch - mainly due to it's unpleasant subject matter.

My rating for this top rated movie therefore is low, because I simply did not find it entertaining. It was not a pleasure to watch.

This film is highly overrated in my opinion, and I can barely hide my frustration after watching it (pure waste of time.)

The rhythm of the storyline is too fast, with an overwhelming amount of various types of violence you can imagine. However, the humanitarian aspect is very shallow.

The moments of sorrow and suspense are too brief and quickly resolved, making it hard for the audience to feel any sympathy for the characters.

There are a few shocking moments with surprises, but the way they're thrown at you so quickly made me indifferent to what happens in the movie.

The cinematography is good, and the director manages to present a natural view of the intense violence.