It’s an uneven puzzle: eye-catching but not entirely convincing when put together.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 25, 2023

The editing and cinematography are heavily stylised, which can make the film feel like a flighty distended music video at times, but Williams and Mpumlwana’s alert, compelling performances keep things grounded in grit.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 25, 2022

It’s all not quite enough to get Officer’s film to live up to its pretensions, which are also present in the overlong opening credits discoursing on Jamaican history and corruption; themes hinted at later but which never entirely bloom.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 23, 2022

Akilla's Escape is undone by its own lack of faith in the viewer, opting to explicitly tell rather than rely on its fine actors to show us who their characters are.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jun 11, 2021

Akilla's Escape recasts the monolithic narrative of gang involvement as one that rejects a trope of Black peril in order to tell a multi-dimensional story of resilience...

| Jun 11, 2021

Although the constant shifts between contemporary Toronto and '90s New York can at times cause confusion, the film remains firmly rooted in Williams' quietly powerful, laser-focused performance.

| Jun 10, 2021

Saul Williams' 40-year old Akilla Brown juxtaposed with Mpumlwana's 15-year old Akilla fortify Officer's crime drama. Instead of a movie about a drug deal gone wrong, Akilla's Escape is a film about manhood, mercy, and second chances.

| Oct 1, 2020

Terrific performances from poet/actor Saul Williams ("Slam") as a dealer in need of redemption and Thamela Mpumlwana (who takes on two different roles) make this saga special.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 30, 2020

The action scenes are never up to the standards of a good crime/action/thriller. Tighter editing and a more fine-tuned script would have helped.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Sep 22, 2020

Akilla's Escape is nicely photographed by Maya Bankovic... as the storytelling stays resolutely and ultimately boringly on beat.

| Sep 18, 2020

A movie that's in love with its technical elements a bit too much, over-reliant on stylish tricks when its greatest power is in Williams' world-weary visage.

| Sep 15, 2020

Akilla's Escape may only cover one very bad night in the life of a city, but its power will stick with you for days, even weeks.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Sep 14, 2020

A mature crime picture whose decades-hopping action makes the effects of generational poverty obvious without having to spell it out, it lacks some of the flash expected in commercial genre pictures, but makes up for that in seriousness.

| Sep 13, 2020