Carlos

Runs more wide than deep, but it's such a vivid portrayal of two decades of a man's life - nimbly moving from place to place, person to person, etc. - that it's nonetheless very entertaining. Assayas' every step is extremely confident, and his technical mastery is something to behold. The use of lighting, the excellent sound design, and a killer soundtrack (Wire!) all make for a hell of a ride.

Even at 5½ hours it's perhaps too concerned with outlining the main historical bullet-points and doesn't take enough time to tell us about Carlos the person. Like Soderbergh's "Che", the director's desire to remain a neutral observer and not condemn or glorify leaves it feeling a little cold and detached. Still, it's an impressive effort. Ramirez is great and the excellent soundtrack gives the film an energy and momentum that doesn't lag for the entire duration. (Mini-series version.)

Over five hours long, yet it is tightly cut -- no scenes are unnecessarily drawn out and the film does not sprawl. Excellent acting, cinematography, writing, direction. It is an amazing story which deftly covers a wide variety of countries, time periods, and true events. The neutrality of the presentation is notable, as the filmmaker manages to never take sides. Great film.

Successfully conveys the kineticism and restlessness that one imagines is appropriate to the subject's existence, but somehow still seems not to go very far. Biopics are prone to two pitfalls: either to slavishly reproduce the facts, or to too willingly doctor them. To some extent the problems here derive from being unable to avoid either of these traps. Nevertheless, still somewhat interesting. Saw the full version.

There's certainly a lot to like here, but once I was done watching, I couldn't shake the fact that this felt less like a movie and more like a 5½ hour audio-visual history lesson, so much that I thought reading a book about the subject matter might actually be more interesting.

Holy crap, an excellent history lesson. I grew up reading about this stuff in the newspapers, but had no idea about the magnitude and inter connectivity of all these events. The impact of these issues and political figures in this film still resonate in our current society (the 2011 Arab spring revolutions). If you liked the Baader Meinhof Komplex, you'll be blown away with this one. A must see for any European born in the 70's.

You couldn't have found a better lead than Edgar Ramírez who, like the real Carlos, is Venezuelan and speaks five languages. He convincingly, with no makeup to speak of, plays him from a lean, hard soldier in the 1970's to a paunchy, middle-aged man in the 1990's. It's an incredible performance.

It's refreshing to see a hostage situation work out for the captors for once

Western-like. Carlos, his team, as if hostile bacteria to a superior immune system, facing adaptations on all fronts, are left with fewer options at every turn, and eventually, upon looking back, realize their journey to have been as necessary as it was unnecessary.

Interesting choice of material for Assayas, as it doesn't play to his strengths. There is a great party scene around the beginning (before it's interrupted by jarring violence and digital blood), and I appreciated the sensuality of the sequence where Carlos seduces his future wife, but it's perfunctorily directed - more of an entertaining political drama than an accomplished artistic work. Seek out instead his less conventional and superior films, Demon Lover, Boarding Gate and Irma Vep.