73
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80SlashfilmRafael MotamayorSlashfilmRafael MotamayorConcrete Utopia is not subtle about its allegories, particularly when it comes to immigration. Thankfully, the focus on character and the fast pace of the story that moves us from one crisis to the other keep the message from becoming overwhelming. Likewise, the script and visuals tease a larger world with stories just outside of what is on screen, adding to the film's worldbuilding.
- 80The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisSmoothly shaping familiar genre tropes into a brutal study of class warfare and the stifling of pity, the director, Um Tae-hwa (who wrote the script with Lee Shin-ji), makes human kindness the first casualty of social disorder.
- 80Screen DailyAllan HunterScreen DailyAllan HunterThe well-drawn characters, clever plotting and sting of social commentary in a tale of pride and property create an entertaining film that could follow in the wake of Parasite, Squid Game and other South Korean success stories.
- 80VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanIt’s a fractious, blood-soaked drama about the will to survive that feels like “Earthquake” crossed with “Lord of the Flies.” What’s gripping is that you watch it and think, “If I were in this movie, what would I do?”
- 80ColliderChase HutchinsonColliderChase HutchinsonAs the film becomes about the conflict between a handful of key characters, it takes on the machinations and trappings of a psychological thriller surrounding a mystery of sorts that we already know the answer to.
- 75Slant MagazineRoss McIndoeSlant MagazineRoss McIndoeThis darkly comic and consistently revealing tale suggests that, without four walls around us to prop them up, most of our morals would crumble into dust.
- 75The Film StageAlistair RyderThe Film StageAlistair RyderIt doesn’t pull any punches in its uncompromising portrayal of rising authoritarianism; it lands with greater impact than a more stereotypically crowd-pleasing disaster film.
- 70IGNKatie RifeIGNKatie RifeConcrete Utopia is a polished disaster drama with a bleak and brutal view of human nature.
- 65The Daily BeastNick SchagerThe Daily BeastNick SchagerIts lack of originality is at least partially offset by its gripping depiction of intolerance and exclusion as impediments to survival.
- 63RogerEbert.comMonica CastilloRogerEbert.comMonica CastilloOverall, Concrete Utopia is more ambitious than its execution, but nonetheless sustains its suspense with an emotional journey into the depths of what scarcity can do to humanity.