Der Baader Meinhof Komplex 2008

A.O. Scott, At the Movies: Very good, very smart, very clear. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: A taut, unnerving, forcefully unromantic film. Read more

David Fear, Time Out: This isn't revisionist history; it's a key moment in political radicalism reduced to an empty pop-cultural posture. Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: Impressive in its scale and momentum, it's the kind of action-packed political melodrama that generates more heat than light. Read more

Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic: The Baader-Meinhof Complex is not an easy film to watch; its violence is ugly and brutish. And there's a lot of it. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: It'd be nice to see an American filmmaker commit a similar reckoning with the Watts riots, the Weather Underground, or the Black Power movement, not simply resort to cant and kitsch but to really interpret those moments. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Part thriller, part social history, this tense 2008 drama traces the rise and fall of the Baader-Meinhof gang. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: There's a fine line to walk when making a film about outlaws: A few wrong moves and, presto, glamorization occurs. To its credit, The Baader Meinhof Complex almost entirely avoids this pitfall. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: There are some literally killer performances here, most notably Johanna Wokalek as Gudrun. Read more

Entertainment Weekly: Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Even though its purpose couldn't be more serious, its style could hardly be more pulp. Which is probably fitting for a group that started out with high-minded goals and ended up robbing banks and blowing people away. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: I have seen The Baader Meinhof Complex three or four times now, and, despite exasperation with its fissile form, I find it impossible not to be plunged afresh into this engulfing age of European anxiety. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: This dramatic film documents a decade of near-anarchy in Germany, beginning with a brutal 1967 police riot. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: The Baader Meinhof Complex isn't, very: This saga of Communist terrorists sowing mayhem in 1970s Germany treats a bloody band as a unit of stouthearted warriors sallying forth to fight for their principles against impossible odds. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The Baader-Meinhof Complex is diluted by too many events and characters distributed over too much time. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: A rare epic that deserves every minute of its epic length. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: This starkly unromantic epic ultimately benefits from its 150-minute running time, immersing the audience in the RAF's journey from shared passion to collective madness as their movement runs its full, sad, bloody course. Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: A thoroughly engrossing tale of conflicting agendas and thwarted ambition. In its verve and verisimilitude, the film recalls such classics of political cinema as Z and The Battle of Algiers. Read more

Wally Hammond, Time Out: As an action-packed pageant of events it is excitingly demonstrative and provocative, but as human drama it proves a mite too enigmatic and unyielding. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Read more

Boyd van Hoeij, Variety: An explosive performance by Johanna Wokalek gives some relief to an otherwise long and humdrum series of characters, blow-'em-ups and prison locations. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: The movie has an undeniable sweep, increasing in intensity once the principals are arrested in June 1972. Read more