Intense

Rating: 9/10 (15 December 2008)

City of God is like Shakespeare. A powerful movie that takes us through the world of drugs in Rio de Janeiro. The film is full of rich characters, and an even richer story (or stories). Fate and chance occur throughout the film, letting you decide what is it really.
The editing of the movie is done very choppy at times and like that of the ridiculous Jason Bourne movies, but this movie makes it work. It needs that choppy editing to keep the viewer on their feet. By no means is the storytelling here slow or lacking. The film has an energy from the beginning to the end. The editing works too because the shots are not overly shaky. We can see what is going on so the quick editing at times works because of that.
The film is a morality tale. Each character is tested and tempted by the villain, Li'l Ze (a metaphor for pure evil). Rocket, the main character, is tempted but ends up the only real survivor at the end. Everyone else succumbs to the pressures of the dark side. Knockout Ned, a noble man, is out for revenge on the shooting of his family by Li'l Ze's gang. He ultimately joins a rival gang and kills an innocent person (purposefully). His lust for revenge turns him into a killer, which ultimately gets him killed.
Benny is the opposite. He is a thug, and good friend of Li'l Ze, but decides the life of drugs and crime are no longer for him. He wants out. At his own "goodbye" party he gets shot accidentally. Was he being punished by God for his previous sins, or was it just a freak accident?
The intertwining of characters and events in this movie are that of a Seinfeld episode. Everyone is connected in the city of god. And everyone has a choice. Kill or be killed.