Libertador 2013

Nicolas Rapold, New York Times: As if the film's ostentatious aerial vistas, merely functional scene-writing and score weren't distracting enough, Mr. Sexton's dialogue freezes dead any simulation of the period with tone-deaf lines amid Bolivar's impassioned rhetoric. Read more

Soren Anderson, Seattle Times: Arvelo, a Venezuelan like Bolivar, touches many of the essential bases in Bolivar's story. But, perhaps inevitably, he is only able to achieve little more than mere touches. Read more

Dennis Harvey, Variety: Well mounted and cast, The Liberator has all the right surface attributes yet never quite transcends its solid, slightly impersonal professionalism. Read more

Mike D'Angelo, AV Club: Right from the start, The Liberator looks like televisual hackwork, despite an impressive budget. Read more

Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: How disappointing that a movie about challenging authority should be such a slave to convention. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: The exceptional life story and history that will be unfamiliar to most viewers keep the film absorbing, and then there's the big plus of Ramirez in the title role. Read more

Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times: Simple enough for audiences who know nothing about Bolivar, poetic enough for those who grew up reading about El Libertador in school books. Read more

Jordan Hoffman, New York Daily News: Edgar Ramirez is electifying as Simon Bolivar, the Venezuelan land owner turned warrior. But even Ramirez cannot liberate this movie from a cliched script. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: The emotions and desires that "The Liberator" dramatizes are such that anyone can feel them and understand. Read more

Inkoo Kang, Village Voice: Speaking mainly in slogans, Ramirez never manages to find Bolivar's humanity. Read more