Metacritic reviews

A stunner: a fiercely brilliant film of such wrenching impact, nonstop drive and unpredictability that watching it becomes an exhilarating ride.

Fierce, loving, and electric, this movie's got bite as well as bark.

An overpowering and original piece of bravura filmmaking that constitutes one of the most breathtaking and impressive directing debuts in years.

The most enthralling movie of the year.

The gritty, Oscar-nominated "Traffic" is a limo ride compared with the bloodletting in this year's foreign-film nominee from Mexico.

As bloody as any recent film. But it's shot through with a harsh, stony humor that's invigorating enough to be regarded as a slap back at death.

A feverish, breathtaking tour through Mexico City high and low, an explosive, mosaic-style portrait of our continent's largest city.

He (Gonzalez Inarritu) handles a complex plot with clarity and precision while keeping audience members on the edge of their seats.

There's something overly studied, almost clinical, in how it all pulls together.

Undeniably high-powered. At 153 minutes, it's also punishingly overlong.