59
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumRachid Bouchareb's intensely dramatized, passionately partisan story of militancy in the struggle for Algerian independence from France after World War II makes effective use of "Godfather" storytelling theatrics.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertAt the very least a superior action film, in which the action sequences are plausible and grounded in reality.
- 75New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickA powerful, decades-spanning epic about that country's fight for independence centering on three brothers.
- 75Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyPhiladelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyA gripping French-Algerian coproduction that makes Algeria's epic struggle for independence from France look like a gangster movie.
- 70Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyLos Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyThe filmmaker is at his best unspooling the politics of independence, which he does with such confident fervor that you always understand the fight.
- 65MovielineMichelle OrangeMovielineMichelle OrangeA companion film to "Days of Glory," Rachid Bouchareb's 2006 feature about Algerian soldiers who fought for France in World War II, Outside the Law is another historical drama with a heavy heart and a knack for genre.
- 60Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearEven the movie's trio of outstanding actors come off like mouthpieces from a creaky Group Theater play, spiced with an occasional Cagneyism or two.
- 50The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenAs powerful and well made as it is, Outside the Law is too schematic and single-minded to lodge itself in your mind as a fully realized cinematic epic. Its few female characters are sketchy at best. It is all politics, all the time.
- 50San Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoSan Francisco ChronicleWalter AddiegoAims to make epic drama of Algeria's battle for independence, but there are moments when you would swear you're watching a "Godfather" knockoff.
- 40Village VoiceNick PinkertonVillage VoiceNick PinkertonThe production design is nice enough, but Bouchareb's four-country co-production isn't an epic-it's just long.