4 stars out of 5 -- "Oliver Stone returns to his comfort zone in this blood-soaked, sex and drug-fueled ride....In fact, SAVAGES is one of Stone's best movies..."
Box Office "This intense and unavoidably gory adaptation of Don Winslow's wild best-seller about the incursion of Mexican drug cartel mayhem into the United States has been made in a jagged, darkly trippy style that well expresses the story's tense uncertainties..."
Hollywood Reporter "[T]his long, dense adventure takes surprising side trips into thoughtfulness, ruefulness, whimsy and romance. It's high-grade entertainment sustained by a buoyant spirit."
Wall Street Journal 3.5 stars out of 4 -- "A return to form for Stone's dark side, SAVAGES generates ruthless energy..."
Chicago Sun-Times "SAVAGES is grandiose underworld pulp staged with screw-tightening skill and a taste for nasty kicks..." -- Grade: B+
Entertainment Weekly "[With] lush compositions and suave camera movements....The sumptuousness of the movie is among its chief delights..."
New York Times "Lively continues her run as a young actress with an undeniable spark....She keys into Os vulnerability and her rich-girl guilelessness..."
Movieline "[T]he aesthetic attributes of its cast, along with some scene-stealing performances from the south-of-the-border side of its drug feud, give the film enough appeal..." -- Grade: B-
A.V. Club 3 stars out of 5 -- "Hayek, as the beyond-ruthless drug queenpin Elena, is the standout; a smirking death-goddess with a mile-long mean streak."
Total Film "[A] movie with real pulpy pulse....SAVAGES is of a piece with the nothing-succeeds-like-excess rule of Stone's career, a recklessly alive movie with retina-burning, sunstroke cinematography..."
Sight and Sound
