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    Only God Forgives

    Total score  5.2

    Rated by 54 users. Scroll down to read reviews.

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    Select stars from 1 to 10.
    10 - A masterpiece, go, see it now
    9 - Excellent movie, a must see
    8 - Great movie, don't miss it
    7 - Good movie, worth seeing
    6 - Not bad, could be much better
    5 - So so, okay if you don't pay
    4 - Not good, even if you don't pay
    3 - Poor movie, not recommended
    2 - Very bad, forget about it
    1 - Worst ever, avoid at all costs

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    Average ratings

    Age   1-12 13-17 18-25 26-35 36-49 50+ Total
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    9
    3.9
    10
    4.9
    14
    5.2
    43
    Women  
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    0
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    10
    1
    2.7
    4
    7
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    4.7
    6
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    0
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    7.9
    11
    5.1
    11
    3.9
    15
    4.7
    16
    5.2
    54

    Distribution of reviews

    Number of reviews per rating.

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    6
    9
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    User reviews

    I found it boring and not enough story, even at 90 minutes. Seemed like it might be an hour long. Reading the plot sounded like the same old, but it did develop a bit more into new and different territory. Sadly, they weren't able to capture that to develop further.

    5
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    clifforda@  14.2.2024 age: 50+ 1,141 reviews

    The film that made Ryan Gosling leave acting for nearly two years and nearly destroyed his career. I had the misfortune of seeing this pile of elephant dung with my sister. We both loved drive and could not believe how bloody awful this movie was. You keep waiting and waiting for something decent to happen which may save this ungodly mess but it never arrives. One can only hope that God forgives the moron who made this movie. I certainly don't. Complete waste of time and money.

    1
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    al_luk@  6.7.2021 age: 36-49 888 reviews

    You either love it or hate it, as this director mixes several genres. The violence seemed excessive and sometimes turned into gore. However, I appreciated the atmospheres created by the colored lighting and shots that created depth in the images. Can you imagine a mother with such disturbed hormones? The murders multiplied in this film, which nevertheless offered a setting reminiscent of very peaceful old opium dens. I know that martial arts are part of Asian culture, but samurais, death squads, and police officers form one of the most improbable mixes. To my surprise, it is a European film shot in Thailand. I don't know how to evaluate this film that mixes the positive and the negative.

    5
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    h2o_@  1.5.2017 age: 50+ 2,391 reviews

    First time seeing a movie of this genre and I appreciated the masterpiece that it is. Ryan Gosling plays his role very well. Violent as a film and one can perceive a small story of vengeance. Superb imagery, deserves to be seen at least once but you must like this kind of film. A must-see! P. s the film's music is excellent and enhances the scenes at their best.

    7
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    ptitjo@  31.5.2016 age: 18-25 17 reviews

    This film is hardly as bad as most of the reviews claim. On the other hand it is not a 9 or 10 as some have stated. I truly don't think this Gosling film is the disaster it's purported to be. I actually enjoyed it as I do any film with with Ryan or K. S. Thomas as the mother. Ryan doesn't come across as his usual brilliant self but that is due to the screenwriting. I reveled in the portrayal of the mother as bad, sick or offensive as she might have struck any given number of people. I'm going down the middle with a 5, but I was much more engrossed in the film than a five would indicate.

    5
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    pietroantoni@  4.3.2015 age: 36-49 15,094 reviews

    WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
    Click here to show this review.
    “Only God Forgives” looks terrific; the use of colour is nothing short of brilliant and the cinematography jumps out as particularly strong as well. Too bad the movie as a whole is plain ugly and the entirety of its characters completely unlikeable. When Billy (Tom Burke) is discovered by a Bangkok police officer after having raped and murdered a 16-year-old girl, he finds the girl’s father and lets the man (Kovit Wattanakul) beat the murderer to death. When she hears the news, Billy’s mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) is outraged and demands revenge. She asks her second-born son, Julian (Ryan Gosling) to grant her satisfaction in an increasing spiral of violence.

    When I say the characters in this movie are totally unlikeable, I meant it literally. I don’t mean in the way that some people would call an anti-hero unlikeable because he or she doesn’t obey the rules. I don’t use the term in the way a flawed character might be considered unlikeable because he or she needs to show improvement and growth throughout the film. I mean these are terrible people that you want to see boiled alive in oil, eaten slowly by a pack of wild dogs or murdered with a sandblaster. The character who drives the action of the film, Billy, is a pedophile, a rapist, a violent misogynist and a drug dealer. When this guy was killed, I was sorry only in the sense that I didn’t get to do see it on-screen. When his mother comes into play, you hate her even more. When Julian informs her that “Billy raped and killed a 16-year-old girl” and that’s why someone figured he was no longer fit to live, her answer is “I’m sure he had his reasons”. Wow. What I wouldn’t give to splice this movie with that final scene from “Hellraiser”, so I could see these characters get torn apart with Pinhead’s hook-chains. If that wasn’t bad enough, she’s a domineering, verbally abusive racist who might have had incestuous relationships with her children (at least one of them) Julian isn’t much better either. I think the objective of the film is to have him as a sort of neutral character, who is torn between obeying his mother and thinking that Billy got what he deserved, but it doesn’t work. To think that he is a likeable character you would have to ignore the fact that he is spineless block of wood with basically no personality, has a tendency to assault strangers for no reason and that he commits several murders himself throughout the film. I’m not talking about bad people exclusively either, I’m talking about police officers who were just doing their jobs that got in his way. I found his character even more unlikeable when towards the end of the film he shows conflict over killing a little girl. Oh I see, it’s bad to kill children but if you’re killing their fathers, their brothers, their mothers or their nannies it doesn’t bother you eh? Give me a break. This character is not likeable and no bullshit ending (and this movie has a bullshit ending) can convince us otherwise.

    If you stretched yourself, you might be able to like one of two secondary characters in the film. One is the prostitute that Julian frequents, who at least has the sense to call the mother out for the bitch that she is. The other is the cop responsible for getting Billy killed. Even then I couldn’t get behind this character. Yeah he’s a supercop who gets the job done in an ugly world, but he also tortures several people so brutally that you want to disconnect yourself from him (mostly because he treats it as standard police procedure, not as a personal vendetta) He also seems to really pick and choose at random who deserves to be punished, with some people who have suffered a lot getting punished even further by his hand, and others who deserve a severe punishment by any country’s standards getting off not necessarily easy, but not in a way that’s equal to the other people he dispenses justice towards.

    In the movie’s defence, it’s got a lot of style, some great cinematography and an excellent use of colour. I also found the acting to be pretty good and the special effects to be convincing as well. For an hour and a half of your time though, this really doesn’t offer much. It’s filled with confusing dream sequences and ambiguous moments of morality, awful characters you couldn’t care less for and a story that in the end doesn’t really mean anything. It wasn’t an unpleasant experience for the most part because the movie looks good, but it just left me feeling dirty and disappointed. (On Dvd, July 5, 2014)

    4
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    adamwatchesmovies@  24.11.2014 age: 26-35 3,005 reviews

    Those who cry masterpiece clearly know nothing about cinema. Even a 5-year-old could have written such a crappy screenplay. A story stripped of any substance and coherence.

    1
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    luniquedieu@  2.4.2014   1st review

    When one takes the time to reflect, one realizes that Only God Forgives is not just a violent and almost silent film. It is a complex and metaphorical work. It is also beautifully directed and acted, with special mention to Kristin Scott Thomas who is perfectly diabolical. Every image is beautiful, whether lit by neon or blood. The music fits so well it's like a character.

    7
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    safmaniac@  14.11.2013 age: 18-25 2 reviews

    Failed experiment by someone who has been handed the keys but, after a few early successes, didn't have a ready, next project to move on to.

    4
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    dgfuk@  4.11.2013 age: 50+   1st review

    Why? A film without rhyme or reason... the only thing that passes are the actors' photo shoots.

    1
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    luc_c_c@  26.9.2013 age: 26-35   1st review

    Let your imagination run wild! Everything unfolds in the viewer’s mind! What great acting! Not a movie where the viewer is guided by the hand! Hahah, you need to be a bit independent ;-)... amazing soundtrack... I can't even imagine the past of the characters to have reached this point! Phew...

    9
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    sfaille2008@  21.9.2013 age: 36-49 3 reviews

    I mean... it's Ryan Gosling! And Kristin S Thomas!

    10
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    lina@  20.9.2013 age: 26-35 10 reviews

    It is what it is: artsy, avant-garde. People that like those types of films, and I am in that category sometimes, will like this film. I personally didn't like it, but that's not to say it isn't likeable. It reminds me of Cosmopolis, only much better. You have been warned.

    3
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    stanlee@  27.8.2013 age: 36-49 426 reviews

    I hope no one else has to suffer through this movie. The Writer and Director were not on the same page. Oh! They're the same person, that explains it then. This movie was trying to display art and profound cinematic violence. It didn't work and It was simply a waste of everyone's time. The trailer for the movie contained 99% of the main characters lines. Boring and shallow.

    2
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    mr.leslie@  26.8.2013 age: 50+ 511 reviews

    A tight choreography of timing, imagery and sound which depicts the emotionless, heartless underworld of the sex and drug trade. Oedipal overtones. This movie is NOT warm and fuzzy!

    8
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    tmbrunk225@  26.8.2013 age: 50+ 24 reviews

    Terribly slow, the movie just bumbles around, it's so contrived trying to be like a David Lynch film, the characters are not believable and the acting is horrible. So by all means go see this steaming pile of crap. I would recommend it if you have trouble sleeping.

    1
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    chuchesscu@  22.8.2013 age: 36-49 9 reviews

    This is a movie to split an audience - it's dark and deep for a mainstream film, but a few of the metaphors are a little over-laboured. Food for thought, and visually stunning.

    7
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    dkc@  19.8.2013 age: 26-35 11 reviews

    Flat, a crappy story, lengthy, a true film for the plateau gang, no script.

    1
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    info@  16.8.2013 age: 36-49 6 reviews

    Boring, No story No story, it was so long I left before the end.

    1
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    juliahollywood@  15.8.2013 age: 36-49 6 reviews

    Very boring, the story is meaningless, why waste your time.

    1
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    knight@  3.8.2013 age: 36-49 13 reviews

    Probably my favorite thing about this movie is that you can feel Bangkok in all its glory pouring through the screen. It is a minimalist intense film. I thought the two main characters were a treat to watch. Movie was a bit stressful from beginning to end though. The choreography for the sword exercise and major fight scene was really something. Worth the price of admission.

    9
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    petercraig@  3.8.2013 age: 36-49 24 reviews

    Not necessarily a beautiful postcard of Bangkok.. LOL!!! I consider this film to be a small masterpiece. Because of its sublime photography, excellent still shots, grandiose editing, and naturally the excellence of its actors... A film of unheard-of violence, both verbal and physical. The immobility of certain scenes, the great silences, and sometimes the gloomy photography give this film all its meaning... I was thrilled! Who else but Ryan Gosling could play this role so well? A Thai Tarantino please! LOL!!!

    9
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    jpflip@  1.8.2013 age: 50+ 2,090 reviews

    So pretentious, you can hear the director saying: I'm so brilliant. Hated this film. Glorifies the worse violence.

    2
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    denis.roy@  30.7.2013 age: 50+ 52 reviews

    What a disappointment, I couldn't stay for more than half an hour, just enough time to finish my popcorn. I loved Drive, I am deeply frustrated, to think that I love Scott Thomas and Ryan Gosling, sometimes we forget the viewer. Finally, I just put Drive back in my Blu-Ray player and I will have a good evening. Have a great day dear movie lovers. Ghislain Sirois.

    3
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    ghislain@  29.7.2013 age: 50+ 47 reviews

    I had high hopes for this movie and kept waiting for the movie to develop and the plot to make sense; it didn't. Unfortunately, Ryan Gosling's character only had about 30 words spoken in the entire film and this film misses its mark with me. There is really no point in watching this.

    2
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    momwithabow@  28.7.2013 age: 36-49 3 reviews

    Trying to be an arty film - but just didn't work for me - very slow and minimal plot - very little character development.

    1
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    cboness@  28.7.2013 age: 50+   1st review

    Glorifies & Justifies violence, worst movie ever seen. Left after 30 minutes. ( Should have left earlier. Not much words to remember for the actors, a lot of violent scenes. A waste of my time and money.

    1
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    aja@  28.7.2013 age: 50+   1st review

    I loved this movie. This film will take you on a great odyssey.

    10
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    alexmeaney237@  27.7.2013 age: 18-25   1st review

    Very bad, not recommended. Don't pay for this movie.

    4
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    cleonc_2000@  25.7.2013 age: 26-35 3 reviews

    This is film is pure genius. It has beautiful imagery and a very original story.

    10
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    senorchode123456789@  25.7.2013 age: 18-25   1st review

    A big sequel film, an incredible cinematic experience for cinema enthusiasts. A film to watch, few words but each line says a lot.

    8
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    manutardif@  24.7.2013 age: 18-25 5 reviews

    Despite the beauty of the images, this film is still fundamentally empty. There is so little story or characters that everyone projects onto it what they want. Those who absolutely want to believe it's a masterpiece put in what they want, the others, like me, just yawn a bit waiting for the end. Kristin Scott Thomas wakes up a little but it's little...

    5
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    anthonybello@  24.7.2013 age: 26-35 38 reviews

    I forgot to mention that I loved Kristen Scott Thomas, she is brilliant, however, I feel like she is emulating someone -so darkly humerous, her abuse culminates in the most original and yucky scene at the end. In general I find these spurtingly bloody scenes like a variety show, like refreshed sensationalized slapstick started by Tarantino.

    7
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    peghill6@  24.7.2013 age: 50+   1st review

    Easily the worst movie I have ever seen. All I can say is WTF?!

    1
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    nigelz1@  24.7.2013 age: 26-35 10 reviews

    I wasn't expecting something light after Drive. Lynch meets Kill Bill. Disturbing and dark.

    7
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    groovybabeee@  23.7.2013 age: 36-49 86 reviews

    I real enjoyed this film. Its right up there with Django Unchained and Kill Bill, for revenge, but with less violence. Great scenes and acting. People don't like it because they think what's in their mind is always correct and right, and they think a film should be their way. The movie only showed what it needed to show to tell the story. It moved a bit slow so you can think about things and meaning and theme and enjoy the cinematography not be blasted with scene after scene of shooting and car crashes and hand to hand combat.

    9
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    deedee@  23.7.2013 age: 50+ 43 reviews

    I have to disagree with the negative comments. The cinematography is gorgeous. The film is not for everyone. It's slow, methodical, and it gets there. You have to appreciate what the director is trying to do and I think this is a movie that will reach cult status once it released into Blu ray and dvd.

    8
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    thorn@  23.7.2013 age: 36-49 47 reviews

    WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
    Click here to show this review.
    Just the other day I said to myself if Ryan Gosling gives just one more brilliant performance in just one more fascinating film I would concede he was the most gifted, versitile actor since Edward Norton. Well sorry folks looks like I jixned it. Only God Forgives reunites Gosling with Drive director Nicholas Winding Refn, but whereas that film was a restrained and stylishly violent story well told, this is just an empty, ugly mess of a film, with unspeakably brutal violence failing to substitute for a complete lack of a narrative. Gosling who maybe utters 10 words, is basically a lifeless cardboard cutout and Kristen Scott Thomas as his mother goes so far out there, I'm affraid we may never see her again. Not a complete disaster as some would claim, but because of its pacing, its characters, its level of violence and its subject matter, pretty much impossible to like on really any level.

    5
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    jerster82@  22.7.2013 age: 26-35 463 reviews

    You either love it or hate it, nothing else to say. Few words and hard to follow at times... Still, it's very original and worth watching at least once, so cross your fingers that it's your kind of movie.

    8
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    supermegadude@  22.7.2013 age: 18-25 12 reviews

    Beautiful staging, photography, music. Not much dialogue, acting, or drama, as the film's focus is more visual. I would have liked the film to be a bit longer, events happen too quickly. Overall, if you appreciate films as a visual art, you can enjoy it, but if you're looking for a good story outside of Hollywood's explosions, you may want to skip it.

    8
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    madeinlaos@  22.7.2013 age: 26-35 15 reviews

    An extremely well lit neon turd.

    3
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    darunstopper@  22.7.2013 age: 36-49   1st review

    The movie succeeds with being beautifully filmed and its well directed sequences as well as its metaphorique characters. It's definitely a movie to watch.

    8
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    baboon_4life_@  22.7.2013 age: 18-25 4 reviews

    I love Ryan, Drive was different, this is just terrible. I didn't even finish the movie. Way to dry and slow. Watching paint dry? No, not that bad, More like watching ice melt.

    3
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    jerkwagon@  22.7.2013 age: 26-35 4 reviews

    I was pleasantly surprised by Only God Forgives! (my expectations weren't high after hearing about its reception at Cannes - but people tend to criticize bold young filmmakers) Let's face it, Nicolas Winding Refn doesn't yet have the reputation of a great director - Drive had an accessible and touching story - and he may have been too bold for his own good with Only God Forgives - diving into a plethora of symbols (bordering on the experimental), anyone could cry pretentiousness (and rightfully so). Young, daring, and bordering on provocation (actually, I believe he achieves it) with his latest film, the Danish filmmaker remains a director to watch out for again for his next feature. Glad the film wasn't a copy/paste of Drive as some had expected.

    7
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    cinemali92@  21.7.2013 age: 18-25 639 reviews

    It's pretty clear, either you love it or you hate it! I love it. The actors' performances, I should say the soul and depth of the actors, the visuals and the soundtrack, WOW. For me, this film is very special and I liked it a lot. A must-see, and judge for yourself.

    10
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    la.trotinette@  21.7.2013 age: 50+ 63 reviews

    WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
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    Kubrick asked us to keep our eyes wide open, Refn rather warns us to close them. Quite rightly. Never before have we seen such an orgy of blood, screams, and colors on screen, all carefully framed, developed in long sinuous tracking shots, carried by electrifying music. A sort of waking nightmare. Even the beauty of the handsome Ryan is butchered. It's like watching a ballet, but not without disturbance, with a mix of fascination and repulsion. Those who loved 'Drive' for the wrong reasons may find plenty of good reasons to dislike this one, because ultimately it's the same film, but shot from a different perspective. From the title, it can be understood that while only God forgives, humans on the other hand only know how to kill each other. Similarly, this time it's not about good Americans serving justice among the wicked Thais; they rather reveal themselves as potential killers, and furthermore impotent and pedophiles (not to mention their unresolved Oedipal complex). Quite a slap in the face! It is a radical work, uncompromising. The question remains whether it lives up to its ambitions.

    8
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    lavoia@  21.7.2013 age: 50+ 297 reviews

    After seeing "Drive", I quickly put Nicolas Winding as part of those special directors who combine great storytelling, beautiful yet personal aesthetics, all wrapped with a fine eye for acting performances. Well... With this movie, all you get is nice photography. That's it. And we all know what that means; BORING. The storyline is so thin, I wouldn't be surprised if the script had less than 20 pages, if that. Without a storyline, the acting becomes empty, the music, annoying, the fight scenes, ridiculous. This movie is like one of those futile student films but with budget. There is no content, no substance, and your bum start itching until you finally leave the theater. As open minded as I can be, I can't even label this work as an art film since it does not even try to reach its audience. You might thing, okay, I'll wait for the DVD, and I'd say, even that would not be worth your time...

    4
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    wildrandez@  21.7.2013 age: 36-49 2 reviews

    Unfortunately for the actors, this film is an imitation of an old B-movie.

    1
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    benoit020@  21.7.2013 age: 50+   1st review

    Maybe I'm being a bit harsh rating this movie a only 4. It wasn't that badly constructed or done without any vision, but it was so s-l-o-w!! Not just the movie's pace but all action was almost a still life. Dialogue was sparse and movement at a snail's pace. A few scenes like that can be very effective, but 90 minutes of nothing but staring contests and creating undue drama over absolutely nothing?! Sorry, I love art and respect all sincere attempts at creating it, but this one wasted my time and it only took me about 10 minutes to realize it. They should not have used stars - B actors would have been a better fit and might have made the whole effort easier to understand.

    4
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    classical@  21.7.2013 age: 36-49 64 reviews

    Let's be clear, this film is visually extraordinary, but the story, the dialogue, the characters, and the end are total crap. The film lasts about 1h20, and Ryan Gosling says about 3 lines in the entire film. If you go see this film, you will be truly disappointed. Do not make this mistake, not even God will forgive Nicolas Winding Refn for making this film!!!

    1
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    gquintal@  20.7.2013 age: 26-35 11 reviews

    Note: The texts posted on this page reflect personal opinions of our users. We are not responsible for their content.

    Did you see ''Only God Forgives''?

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    Select stars from 1 to 10.
    10 - A masterpiece, go, see it now
    9 - Excellent movie, a must see
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    7 - Good movie, worth seeing
    6 - Not bad, could be much better
    5 - So so, okay if you don't pay
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    3 - Poor movie, not recommended
    2 - Very bad, forget about it
    1 - Worst ever, avoid at all costs

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