CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

SnoopyStyle In 1973, Venezuelan Marxist Ilich Ramirez 'Carlos' Sanchez is in Europe as a high operative for the PFLP. He assassinates targets. When his superior André is arrested, PFLP head Wadie Haddad assigns him to take OPEC oil ministers at their Vienna conference hostage. In December 21, 1975, his group succeeds in taking hostages but their attempt to find asylum ends in failure. He goes to work for himself causing havoc around the world.Olivier Assayas tries to fit a very big life into a limited space. Édgar Ramírez is great. This is a juicy part. I saw the shorter version and it has a compressed feel. Three hours is not enough to get the whole story. This needs to be a longer TV show or a shorter movie of the OPEC hostage taking. This has the great feel of the era. The hostage taking and the subsequent turmoil is fascinating and would make for a tight historical thriller.

jmalmsten First off. I had never really heard of this Carlos guy. But I think I have seen quite a few characters loosely based on his persona. So I started to see trailers promising this epic story about the true events of a terrorist legend spanning decades in Cinemascope. And I was thinking I should watch this. This looks promising. I didn't really expect it to be awesome. But it did look interesting.But the film didn't open in theaters here. And while it was waiting for a DVD or release I heard that there's two versions of this. Both a 3 hour compilation and a three-part 5+hr miniseries. Now, I am in a mindset that when there's several versions I want to experience the directors cut first. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's the longer one. Often it is. But there are quite a few cases where Directors have preferred their theatrical cuts and only did longer cuts as Special Editions. Greatest examples here being James Camerons works with Aliens, Terminator 2, and the likes. And here in Sweden too, there's a common practice where the filmmakers have to do longer TV-edits in order to secure extra funding. Most of those times, the Theatrical Cut would be the Directors Cut. Well, in the case of Carlos, it wasn't. The 5hr version is the directors cut. So I tried waiting to see it the way it was intended. It never came. So now. 4 years later. I finally got a copy of the whole thing and over the course of two nights, I plowed through it.Part One, first night:Here you get the origin of this multinational antihero as he's starting out as a veteran of revolutionary wars and fights his way into the business of international terrorism for hire. And for me, this was the best part. It shows his talent for this gig. And also how haphazardly the operations can be slapped together. They say that beggars can't be choosers and sometimes you just don't have enough trustworthy or talented coworkers available, so the bar is lowered somewhat to fill up the roles that the operation needs. Again. This first part showed a lot of promise and almost made you root for this womanizing borderline-alcoholic that has no problems bombing civilians to make a point. And it ended with the crew on a bus going to do their biggest gig yet. Quite a cliffhanger.Part Two and Three, second night: Well, the plan sort of fell apart and Carlos is set on a downward spiral of lesser successes throughout the later parts. And, unfortunately, the quality of the film kind of followed. It became an increasingly tangled mess of a bloating cast and muddy motivations. I have very little recollection of what happened during the latter 2.5 hours. The only part I remember sticking out was where they repeatedly mention the location of Ulm. That made me giggle as I tried to recollect the full name of Johann Gambolputty. Eventually it ended and I was more exhausted than anything.Overall:Though I will say this. The costumes, the setting and make-up where all terrific. The lead did his damnedest and had no reservations on camera. Technically, the camera-work was a bit too close and shaky at times but mostly well done. Also, the sound was convincing and the music fit for the most part. Where the problem lies is in the script. Which needed shedding quite a few plot-threads. And it makes me curious how much of the fluff was kept for the 3hr cut. It'll probably take me quite a while before I watch that one, as I want to rid myself of this one just to make the judgment fairer. In conclusion. The whole piece was too bloated for me. Buffs of terrorism history will probably enjoy it more.

filmalamosa This 3 part series follows the "career" of Carlos from about 1973 to 1994. A psychopathic killer and terrorist leader he was responsible for a rash of bombings and assassinations for various groups mainly Palestinian causes. He was finally captured in Sudan in 1994.The movie is nicely filmed with period details adhered to. It seems to have been mostly filmed in Beirut with that venue passing for Tripoli Algiers etc... in any case it is convincing.What struck me is that the 911 attacks were nothing new...terrorists in the 1970s were taking OPEC ministers hostage blowing up planes etc... I am cynical enough to wonder why now there has to be trillions spent on the war on terror...seems they managed back then with out doing that. The military industrial complex needed a new threat after the cold war ended.Another flaw is the group is made to seem almost chic in their running from country to country. But that is minor.It is pretty good if you need to kill 6 hours.

jcanettis When you want to make a movie of a notorious terrorist responsible for many innocent lives, it is a very difficult task: If you portray him in a romantic way you will be accused of glorifying an evil man, while if you portray him in a dark light you will be accused of blind fanaticism.Director Olivier Assayas has managed to strike a fine balance between these two extremes, and thus he recounts the story of Carlos in an objective and cool-headed way which fascinates the viewer from the beginning to the very end. The story begins with Carlos entering the world of terrorism as a young idealist, and ends with his capture at a time when he has become a corrupt and hedonist man. Throughout this time frame, Assayas shows us the story of a man, who despite his horrendous crimes, his life is really intriguing to watch.Edgar Ramirez is excellent in the central role, but the important thing in this film is that actually EVERYONE in the film is excellent in his/her role: The acting is superb all around, and at some point it begins to feel as if you are watching a documentary with real terrorists on the screen instead of actors. The direction is also superb, with the the pace being constantly fast and coherent.A great film to watch. 10/10.