All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Average User Score: 7 (193 sources)

Submit Movie Review

Review this film

Tell the world what you think of Babel

Your Score:

reset score

Write Your Review:
When writing your review, remember to keep the language clean.

Submit Review Cancel

mackski

-1

Agree (0)

Disagree (0)

This movie brought a pretty good idea together with a decent script and a great cast. The first time I saw this movie I just hated it but at the urging of a friend I gave it a second viewing. I do like how they melted the different locations and...
[+] Read Full Review

This movie brought a pretty good idea together with a decent script and a great cast. The first time I saw this movie I just hated it but at the urging of a friend I gave it a second viewing. I do like how they melted the different locations and story into one. My favorite part of the movie had to be the story line of the Japanese girl. I recommend this movie to fans of good dramas.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted aug 20, 2008 4:50 am pt

Cpt-WilliaM

-1

Agree (0)

Disagree (0)

Great Story & Great Director & Great Actor Like Brad pitt... This movie Tel Problems of World... I like this movie.

Report Abuse

Posted jul 14, 2008 3:34 am pt

FilipHolm

-1

Agree (0)

Disagree (0)

Babel is deffinatly a touching movie. It is 4 stories all connected to each other. One about two american turists A man (Brad Pitt) and his wife who on the buss gets shot and they deseratly try to save her.One story about the two young boys who...
[+] Read Full Review

Babel is deffinatly a touching movie. It is 4 stories all connected to each other. One about two american turists A man (Brad Pitt) and his wife who on the buss gets shot and they deseratly try to save her.One story about the two young boys who shot her. One about the couple´s children, and one about a japanese teenager who´s life we get to follow for a while. They´re all nicly done.The directing is the best part of the movie,great cinematagrophy, pretty good writing and a couple of good actors and actresses. Don´t listen to drek2 or Vyce3,this is a very good movie.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted jul 6, 2008 9:39 pm pt

drek2

-1

Agree (0)

Disagree (0)

Babel is the result of what happens when you take Syriana & Crash and splice them together. It's a simple twisting plot that intertwines different characters on an international level. This may sound like a pretty good premise but...
[+] Read Full Review

Babel is the result of what happens when you take Syriana & Crash and splice them together. It's a simple twisting plot that intertwines different characters on an international level. This may sound like a pretty good premise but unfortunately isn't the case. Babel take's Syriana's slow pace and more or less boring story and puts in a hint of Crash with the plot that some how fits together at the end. Overall the movie dissapointed me and I'd only recommend it for those who have nothing better to watch.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted jul 5, 2008 4:06 pm pt

drek2

-1

Agree (0)

Disagree (0)

Babel is the result of what happens when you take Syriana & Crash and splice them together. It's a simple twisting plot that intertwines different characters on an international level. This may sound like a pretty good premise but...
[+] Read Full Review

Babel is the result of what happens when you take Syriana & Crash and splice them together. It's a simple twisting plot that intertwines different characters on an international level. This may sound like a pretty good premise but unfortunately isn't the case. Babel take's Syriana's slow pace and more or less boring story and puts in a hint of Crash with the plot that some how fits together at the end. Overall the movie dissapointed me and I'd only recommend it for those who have nothing better to watch.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted jul 5, 2008 4:06 pm pt

goshwow

-1

Agree (1)

Disagree (0)

What Babel does is force you out of your cultural comfort zone, tossing you into the lives of different people within four cultures: Moroccan, Japanese, Mexican and American. There's a good story within Babel, but it's mostly lost in translation....
[+] Read Full Review

What Babel does is force you out of your cultural comfort zone, tossing you into the lives of different people within four cultures: Moroccan, Japanese, Mexican and American. There's a good story within Babel, but it's mostly lost in translation. If you do not speak Japanese, Arab (I assume) or Spanish, you're missing about 90% of the story. The beauty of the movie, however, is that you won't need subtitles, unless you're wondering just how the hell the Japanese fit into this whole mess (Wikipedia figures it out for you). Though you won't necessarily learn anything in regards to politics, with Babel you are still getting a very, very strong character driven film. Ultimately, the film isn't about how the gun that began this whole mess came to the hands of Moroccan farmers, but the lives and psyche of the characters involved in the story. Watch it, not necessarily for the politics, but for the characters. In the end, if you don't end up loving the culture that you were raised on (and it doesn't have to be any of the four cultures outline prior), then you probably didn't enjoy Babel.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted may 25, 2008 1:05 pm pt

Vyce3

-1

Agree (1)

Disagree (2)

Decent movie... it just could have gotten to the point 2h20 earlier. Depressing but true. Do not expect an entertaining popcorn flick but a movie that will make you think. I also believe that the explicit scenes involving underaged kids were not...
[+] Read Full Review

Decent movie... it just could have gotten to the point 2h20 earlier. Depressing but true. Do not expect an entertaining popcorn flick but a movie that will make you think. I also believe that the explicit scenes involving underaged kids were not necessary and could have been edited out, they brought nothing to the movie.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted may 11, 2008 1:00 pm pt

mandytjie

-1

Agree (0)

Disagree (1)

It's taken a long time for me to write this review which in a way is a good thing. For months, this film has gone round and round in my mind. It is an excellent film, expertly directed and with a strong, capable cast. It is jus a really thought...
[+] Read Full Review

It's taken a long time for me to write this review which in a way is a good thing. For months, this film has gone round and round in my mind. It is an excellent film, expertly directed and with a strong, capable cast. It is jus a really thought provoking film and highlights how random and chaotic our lives can be.
Watch it.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted feb 22, 2008 6:01 am pt

hunterharry2

-1

Agree (2)

Disagree (1)

I don't get the playa-haterizing I've been hearing about this film, I enjoyed it a lot. The plot was interesting and the writing was good, as were the performances from most members of the cast. The direction was also top notch, but with A.G.I.'s...
[+] Read Full Review

I don't get the playa-haterizing I've been hearing about this film, I enjoyed it a lot. The plot was interesting and the writing was good, as were the performances from most members of the cast. The direction was also top notch, but with A.G.I.'s style I would have prefered for it to have been shot with a wider aspect ratio.

A brilliant film, don't let these playa-haters fool you.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted may 31, 2007 5:15 am pt

henricusv

-1

Agree (0)

Disagree (1)

Definitely the best film of 2006 in my opinion…even tough it did not win best picture…the complexity of the human struggle is truly displayed in a way which leaves the viewer inspired with a sense that there is hope....
[+] Read Full Review

Definitely the best film of 2006 in my opinion…even tough it did not win best picture…the complexity of the human struggle is truly displayed in a way which leaves the viewer inspired with a sense that there is hope. Tough the movie jumps from story to story…allowing us to see the connections found in all circumstances that surround the suffering and pain of the people involved. Similar to Amores Perros and 21 Grams the director finds a way to help us see that even tough our struggles are always present and that suffering is a part of our life…we can find hope even if that hope seem so inconceivable at the time.

[-] Minimize Review

Report Abuse

Posted apr 24, 2007 8:21 am pt

• [+] Rolling Stone
  
  100
  In the year's richest, most complex and ultimately most heartbreaking film, Inarritu invites us to get past the babble of modern civilization and start listening to each other.

  by Peter Travers | Read Full Review »
• [+] New York Post
  
  100
  This is a serious movie overflowing with memorable acting, unforgettable images, searing tragedy, unexpected humor and an eloquent plea for international understanding. And while it's by no stretch of imagination light entertainment, it's fundamentally a more optimistic work than either "Amores Perros" or "21 Grams."

  by Lou Lumenick | Read Full Review »
• [+] Variety
  
  90
  Effectively building dread and emotional tension as tragic incidents triggered by human stupidity and carelessness steadily multiply, this film, like "21 Grams" in particular, employs a deterministically grim mindset in the cause of its philosophical aspirations, but is gripping nearly all the way.

  by Todd McCarthy | Read Full Review »
• [+] The Hollywood Reporter
  
  90
  The filmmakers succeed brilliantly in weaving these stories together, taking time to explore depth of character and relationships. The suspense builds throughout as everyone involved becomes lost in a place they don't understand with people they don't know if they can trust.

  by Ray Bennett | Read Full Review »
• [+] Austin Chronicle
  
  89
  It's a masterful film, the kind you itch to see twice or more, as elliptical as a dream and as direct as the short sharp shock of lead kissing flesh.

  by Marc Savlov | Read Full Review »
• [+] New York Daily News
  
  88
  A powerful movie that should win all the year's ensemble acting awards. Pitt has never done better dramatic work, Blanchett is as convincing as always, and - in introducing themselves to American audiences - veteran Mexican actress Barraza and Japan's Kikuchi are revelations.

  by Jack Mathews | Read Full Review »
• [+] Chicago Tribune
  
  88
  It's a powerhouse, demanding film that sometimes stretches the limits of credibility. But it's done with such consistent technical brilliance--and with such a first-rate cast and company.

  by Michael Wilmington | Read Full Review »
• [+] ReelViews
  
  88
  Its complex (yet not mystifying) storytelling, forceful character development, and superb cinematography make this a candidate for one of 2006's best offerings.

  by James Berardinelli | Read Full Review »
• [+] USA Today
  
  88
  Babel may be the most ambitious movie of the year, tackling towering communication barriers, global politics and cultural divides in a structurally complex and fascinating narrative.

  by Claudia Puig | Read Full Review »
• [+] Portland Oregonian
  
  83
  Even as Inarritu has matured as a craftsman, he has stood perhaps one beat too long in the same place as a storyteller. In ways, Babel is his best work, but it's time to move on.

  by Shawn Levy | Read Full Review »
• [+] Slate
  
  80
  Babel has great expectations for itself: It wants to be a movie about big ideas and big emotions at the same time. Aided by gorgeous locations and classy trappings (cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto, theme music by Gustavo Santaolalla), it succeeds for the most part.

  by Dana Stevens | Read Full Review »
• [+] Los Angeles Times
  
  80
  The beauty of this film is in its lapidary details, which sparkle with feeling and surprise.

  by Carina Chocano | Read Full Review »
• [+] The New York Times
  
  80
  In the end Babel, like that tower in the book of Genesis, is a grand wreck, an incomplete monument to its own limitless ambition. But it is there, on the landscape, a startling and imposing reality. It's a folly, and also, perversely, a wonder.

  by A.O. Scott | Read Full Review »
• [+] Time
  
  80
  Babel is a movie that leaves you feeling limp and wrung out, but mysteriously moved by its vivid human encounters with the hot, tightly wired, chancy and coincidental world, ever capable of terrorizing us when we least expect it.

  by Richard Schickel | Read Full Review »
• [+] Empire
  
  80
  It may be too slow for some tastes, but Babel remains emotionally bruising but compulsive viewing.

  by Ian Freer | Read Full Review »