51
Metascore
24 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75The Film StageJared MobarakThe Film StageJared MobarakAs for the politics, even though the characters are stereotypes playing on the public’s liberal assumptions of human rights, Desierto is less interested in holding one side above the other as much as showing the true-to-life tragedy real life brings.
- 70VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangCuaron’s movie may be an exaggerated nightmare vision of murderous xenophobia run amok, but the catharsis in this tale of survival and payback is undeniably real.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyIf the story is meant to represent a microcosm of the immigration problem, it’s woefully reductive. If it’s meant to be first and foremost an action thriller, it does have a few nice moves to offer.
- 50Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreDesierto never amounts to much more than a variation on a theme we know by heart, predictable at every single sandy step they take.
- 40The GuardianJordan HoffmanThe GuardianJordan HoffmanWhile engaging, this Desierto is a little dry.
- 40Screen DailyAllan HunterScreen DailyAllan HunterThe issue of immigration couldn’t be more timely or poignant, but everything else in Desierto feels strictly by the book and it is a book we already know from cover to cover.
- 40We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoWe Got This CoveredMatt DonatoDesierto is one of those movies that's nasty without reason, and never really finds its stride by way of tone or message.
- 38Slant MagazineClayton DillardSlant MagazineClayton DillardAny perceptive dialogue or contemporary socio-political subtext is pummeled by Jonás Cuarón’s preference for empty genre thrills.
- 25The PlaylistNikola GrozdanovicThe PlaylistNikola GrozdanovicWith a bare minimum amount of suspense, and a screenplay that needs too much work for one that has so many long stretches of silence, this film leaves you with too many reasons not to care about it.