39
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsRogerEbert.comSimon AbramsThis movie's makers haven't met a formula cliché that they don't like.
- 58The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThese fight scenes—and the chases that often precede them—are neither ingenious nor novel, but they’re fun and cleanly shot; the fact that this can be considered a major virtue probably says more about the state of the big-budget action movie than about Skin Trade itself.
- 50Village VoiceMichael NordineVillage VoiceMichael NordineSkin Trade's action is all blood and sinew, but its camerawork and choreography are nothing if not graceful.
- 50The DissolveScott TobiasThe DissolveScott TobiasEveryone’s there to get the job done, Dolph Lundgren style, meaning Skin Trade is a throwback to the one-man-army actioners of the ’80s, sprinkled with updated stats on human trafficking. If the film happens to raise awareness, then that’s more bonus than objective.
- 50Los Angeles TimesMartin TsaiLos Angeles TimesMartin TsaiIf bare-knuckle fights are what you seek, director Ekachai Uekrongtham certainly delivers. But the film scarcely scratches the surface of the horrors of human trafficking.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckFor a film so seemingly interested in educating audiences about the evils of sex trafficking that it provides horrific statistics at the conclusion, it has no compunction about including copious doses of female nudity.
- 38Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreSkin Trade, a project Lundgren co-wrote and has been trying to film for years, feels so dated and over-familiar that “half-decent” always seems just out of reach.
- 30VarietyNick SchagerVarietyNick SchagerSnapping necks and shooting limbs have rarely been carried out in service of such a principled cause — or been executed with such formulaic tedium.
- 0Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenThere's no beauty to this film, little rhythm, none of the physical grace that action-film fans crave even if they don't know they do.