Review of Carlos (2010) by Julia C — 01 Sep 2011

Making a five and a half hour movie that only sags for an hour is an incredible achievement, but the fact that the slowest hour is when the audience is expecting an explosive climax rather than a slow denouement makes the massive story's ending a little unsatisfying.

The scope of the film is gigantic (it was filmed on six continents and covers a span of 25 years) and the direction is mostly phenomenal, but the entire film would fall apart without the magnetic performance of Edgar Ramirez There aren't many actors in the world with the force of charisma to shoulder a five hour film that never stops being captivating at its center, but Ramirez makes it look effortless in a true tour de force of acting.