79
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Slant MagazineEd GonzalezSlant MagazineEd GonzalezUnderground is a unique blend of lowbrow slapstick and sophisticated war commentary, earning it well-deserved comparisons to Ernst Lubitsch’s brilliant To Be and Not To Be (possibly the funniest movie ever made) and the films of Abbott and Costello.
- 89Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovAt almost three hours, it's a masterwork of brilliant editing and design; not a frame is unwarranted, not a scene excessive, and it holds together over its lengthy running time in a way few films half its length can manage.
- 88New York Daily NewsDave KehrNew York Daily NewsDave KehrDelirious in its excess, but never less than ferociously intelligent and operatically emotional, Underground represents one of those rare, exhilarating moments when an outsize artistic vision is fueled by an apparently unlimited budget. Not to be missed.
- 80Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumHowever one chooses to take its jaundiced view of history, it's probably the best film to date by the talented Kusturica (Time of the Gypsies, Arizona Dream), a triumph of mise en scene mated to a comic vision that keeps topping its own hyperbole.
- 80CineVueBen NicholsonCineVueBen NicholsonUnderground is bravura filmmaking at its most entrancing and its labyrinthine political context only serves to heighten its fascinating appeal.
- 75The Seattle TimesJohn HartlThe Seattle TimesJohn HartlCompelling epic filmmaking.
- 60EmpireWilliam ThomasEmpireWilliam ThomasKusturica is sturdier on style than substance.
- 60Time OutTime OutPlayed as broad, noisy black farce, the film is about the deception of politics and heroism, dog-eat-dog morals and the propensity for violence, but one can't help thinking that behind the sometimes sensational apocalyptic imagery, there's less here than meets the eye.
- The same message could have been delivered in half the time, at half the volume.
- 38San Francisco ExaminerBarbara ShulgasserSan Francisco ExaminerBarbara ShulgasserI suppose Kusturica can justify the 167-minute length by the historical breadth of the movie, but it simply doesn't sustain one's interest, significant or not.