As uninspired the direction may be, the screenplay fares even worse with an indulgence in shallow characters, stale dialogue and tired tropes of a masculine criminal enterprise with emotional bonds that are incredibly weak.

| Original Score: 4/10 | Jun 5, 2022

Brothers by Blood starts off with plenty of promise then devolves into a rather dull film.

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | Apr 25, 2021

Visually drab, tonally flat, and with precious few sympathetic or relatable characters, Brothers by Blood should be elevated by its strong cast but remains steadfastly sluggish.

| Apr 21, 2021

A wasted effort, and I hate to do this to a film...a lot of time and talent went into this, but it just doesn't work.

| Mar 2, 2021

Less a nuanced examination of small-time underworld behavior in the city of Brotherly Love and more a collection of lame tough-guy behaviors and dialogue...

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Feb 21, 2021

Brothers by Blood is about the traits we inherit from our parents, our loyalties and debts, and the difference between the two. Beneath it all, a sad lyricism permeates the proceedings.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Feb 8, 2021

Brothers by Blood is essentially a cheap wannabe Martin Scorsese gangster film ... Like a lot of derivative mobster flicks, Brothers by Blood limits the female characters in very sexist and shallow ways.

| Feb 1, 2021

Gritty but engagingly introspective, this dark drama centres on a group of growly men whose lives are entwined with organised crime.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 29, 2021

Brothers by Blood tells a story of the way violence begets violence, a generational cycle its characters ultimately can't escape. Despite that compelling foundation, however, the movie feels too remote to get under the skin.

| Jan 27, 2021

Violent but blah mob drama has drinking, tons of language.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 26, 2021

Guez's no-thrills direction helps establish his familiar plotting into an astute character study.

| Jan 26, 2021

An all-too ordinary mob story that seems unfortunately content with coaxing by on familiarity.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 26, 2021

The decision to dial back the action in favor of introspective brooding and macho posturing renders the film more tedious than thrilling.

| Jan 22, 2021

A waiting game in which both the audience and the movie lose.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Jan 22, 2021

Casual viewers, unwilling to sit through 90 minutes that feel like three hours, won't find much interest in such a somber, slow-burn approach...

| Jan 22, 2021

It feels rather plodding... failing to turn the boxer's conflicting loyalties into the stuff of crime-flick high drama.

| Jan 22, 2021

What sets this particular story ... apart ... is Guez's focus on these characters, the piece's mood, and a shadowy, claustrophobic sense of inevitable doom...

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 22, 2021

The cast is composed of veteran performers, all of whom are coasting through this misguided effort.

| Original Score: 2.0/4.0 | Jan 22, 2021

Director Jérémie Guez paints his Philadelphia-set gangster tale with authentic-enough colors, but he fails to find a convincing reason to tell this story, of these Philadelphia gangsters, at this time.

| Original Score: D | Jan 22, 2021

It's hard to say that any other edit would be better, because Brothers by Blood is one single, grey mass to the bone, an unfortunate use of a sterling cast and a book that deserves a more textured retelling.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jan 22, 2021