Critic Reviews

• Connie Ogle, Miami Herald

  A reflection on power and betrayal, on the thin line between acting as your conscience demands and protecting obligations close to your heart.

• Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

  Sayles is always an interesting storyteller, and if "Amigo" isn't typical of his subtler methods, it's still a compelling look at history and its continuing influence.

• Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

  "Amigo" might be the talkiest war movie ever made.

• John Hartl, Seattle Times

  You could argue that the chief villain of the ambiguously titled "Amigo" is language, which is used quite deliberately to mock and mislead and betray.

• Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

  By choosing Rafael as its hero, "Amigo" looks not only at a little-known part of American history, but at a rarely examined type of movie character.

• Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

  An engrossing, perceptive, supremely humane drama about imperialism and loyalty.

• Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

  Offers a valuable history lesson.

• John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

  Naysayers might argue that the film's anti-war message is so obvious it doesn't bear repeating; but if that's the case, why do we tolerate so many unnecessary wars?

• Mike Scott, Times-Picayune

  A nuance-free, emotionally stunted historical drama.

• Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media

  Movies this intelligent and aware of so many different points of view should be celebrated, so kudos to Sayles for pulling it off, time and again, in his multi-decade career.

• Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press

  When John Sayles wants to tell a story, he makes fine movies such as "Lone Star" and "The Secret of Roan Inish." When Sayles wants to prove a point, he makes dreck like "Amigo."

• Josh Bell, Las Vegas Weekly

  Amigo is quiet and slow, a war drama in which the war has mostly passed the main characters by.

• Ian Buckwalter, DCist

  Sayles narrowly avoids the preachy direction in which Amigo pulls, largely because he isn't interested in making anyone into a punching bag.

• Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper

  Neither character-narrative engaging nor educationally enlightening, the film adds up to a fail.

• Marc Mohan, Oregonian

  There's no real sense of the atmosphere of a sticky, buggy, fetid jungle, and no intensity to a story that cries out for a sense of moral outrage.

• Kelly Vance, East Bay Express

  The film keeps several balls in the air simultaneously while never actually taking sides.

• Burl Burlingame, Honolulu Star-Advertiser

  "Amigo" is probably too didactic and period-bound to find a wide audience, and the Americans who would benefit most from it are likely to be confused by it.

• Robert Levin, Film School Rejects

  In its quiet way, Amigo builds to a devastating portrait of war's terrible cost.

• Leonard Maltin, Leonard Maltin's Picks

  Amigo ought to be a great film: the subject is fascinating and still resonates today, even though it takes place over a hundred years ago. The Philippine-American war has been pretty much ignored...

• Marshall Fine, Hollywood & Fine

  Not nearly dramatic or tense enough, even when it's showing us things that should touch a nerve or an emotion.

Read all 20 critic reviews