People actually hate this film

Rating: 10/10 (1 February 2007)

Whenever I look up a film on IMDb, I typically go to the "hated it" category and see 1) who is panning it, and 2) what other films they have reviewed and whether or not I share common tastes with the reviewer. Sadly, IMDb doesn't do a good job of filtering out trolls, so there is going to be one star reviews for Citizen Kane type films that aren't really serious, only an attempt to get under people's skin, or possibly an attempt to knock a film down on the Top 250.
I also discount the "worst film of all time/I wasted two hours of my life" kind of reviews as attempts by the writer to get you to read their review. Besides, that approach is tired and cliché.
City of God is the type of film that I can honestly only think of two type of "serious" negative reviews: People who are offended by the violence, and perhaps individuals who are dyslexic and can't keep up with the subtitles. For everyone else, this is patently a great, entertaining film.
I try to rent this film at least once a year, and will watch it when it comes on Sundance or IFC. Aside from the technical aspects of the film, it is a great and compelling story.
If you enjoy great gangster films like the Godfather or Goodfellas, you need to rent City of God as soon as you can. You won't regret it.