57
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichA familiar but arrestingly visceral crime story with a coming-of-age twist, Claudio Giovannesi’s Piranhas has an unusual relationship with its own predictability.
- 75Washington PostMichael O'SullivanWashington PostMichael O'SullivanPiranhas is no documentary, but it plays out with a deadpan style that is deeply unsettling.
- 67The Film StageLeonardo GoiThe Film StageLeonardo GoiThere is something so perceptive in the way Giovannesi zeroes in on these embryonic mafia bosses–especially as Piranhas ventures into the kids’ relationship with the adult world around them–which makes for an enjoyable if patchy 105-minute ride.
- 63Slant MagazinePat BrownSlant MagazinePat BrownClaudio Giovannesi’s film is more an interesting tweak of Goodfellas than an eye-opening social statement.
- 60The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawGiovannesi’s movie is watchable enough, but often looks like a smoothed-out, planed-down version of Garrone’s Gomorrah: Gomorrah without the rough edges, like a classy television version.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungThe Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungThe screenplay struggles to rise above the level of a sociological study into the realm of exciting cinema.
- 50Screen DailyLee MarshallScreen DailyLee MarshallPiranhas feels a bit like a teen movie that just happens to have a Cammora backdrop, rather than a serious, nuanced drama about the paranza system – essentially, the grooming of underage kids as drug runners and Mafia footsoldiers.
- 50VarietyJessica KiangVarietyJessica KiangTo watch young people fall into old patterns is still to watch those old patterns, and the film cannot escape the familiarity of its archetypal, rise-to-power, fall-from-grace narrative.
- 50The New York TimesGlenn KennyThe New York TimesGlenn KennyIn its reliance on a conventional narrative through-line, it’s more reminiscent of “The Public Enemy” than “Goodfellas” in spite of its stylings of contemporary cinematic realism.
- 50RogerEbert.comVikram MurthiRogerEbert.comVikram MurthiPiranhas generally succeeds whenever it leans into its hangout vibe. The teenage gang isn’t particularly memorable (names and personalities are eschewed for rowdy homogeneity) but their collective energy can be fun to watch, especially because it allows Giovannesi to document youth as currently lived.