Sam Troyer So there were a lot of things that were great about this movie. It had some awesome commentary on the reality and the struggle of Salvadorians living in the slums, and the harsh behavior of the police and the army on the people. The acting from most of the main characters was pretty great, although most of the army members were very blank and just not very good. Raul Julia did an excellent job, especially in the scenes in which he had to get emotional, although there were a few times in which his performance became a little bit worse in some of the scenes that he was screaming. The prison scene was odd, primarily because the make up was not believable to a dead person. He was supposed to be a man who was beaten to death, tortured until he finally decided to give up. However, the make up was similar to someone who got punched in the face once or twice and got knocked out. One of the things that restricts this movie, in my opinion, is that everything is just so black and white. The priests and the church are the good guys and then the rich and powerful people are the bad guys. Every single action that they take is therefore extremely predictable because you know what is going to happen as soon as the scene starts. This also makes it so that the only person you can rout for is Romero. There is no struggle, I don't have to make a decision, and I am not challenged as an audience member. This makes the experience extremely one sided and I am left with a feeling of emptiness.The other problem, although I already mentioned it before, is the actors other than the lead. The extras are pretty bad, and most of the people in the military just have a blank expression and sound like they are just reading their lines. I get it that it really isn't supposed to be about acting but you get the point.Overall good film, 7/10.

Michael Neumann It might have been little more than a thinly camouflaged big screen sermon, but this portrait (produced by an arm of the Catholic Church itself) of martyred El Salvador Archbishop Oscar Romero is neither religious propaganda nor a political manifesto. It's the story of a simple man of faith whose conscience would not allow him to remain silent when confronted by the escalating bloodshed of civil warfare, and Raul Julia's performance in the title role highlights all the Archbishop's conviction and sometimes clumsy sense of humility. The film works best when addressing the age-old conflict between Church and State, and to its credit is not above criticizing the policies of either institution. Director John Duigan thankfully doesn't try to sensationalize the climate of violence leading up to the crime (compare the film to Oliver Stone's typically overwrought 'Salvador'), but the assassination itself is (sadly) played for maximum (melo) dramatic impact. What follows is a familiar (and completely redundant) end-title moral with the usual grim statistics, but in balance the film presents an honest and sometimes moving story, with an essentially humanist message: "Someone", says the Archbishop, "must have the courage to say 'enough'."

ccthemovieman-1 I'll always remember the name Raul Julio for this picture. I guess I don't really remember him in other films except for smaller roles. This was one of his acting career highlights, I would assume.This is a powerful movie based on history in the late '70s in El Salvardor, where a country's leaders were killing thousands of dissidents including clergy in the Roman Catholic Church. Julia plays "Archbishop Romero." He is interesting to watch and the center of the story.This is a violent, sometimes unpleasant movie to watch but if your concerned about profanity or sex, you don't have to worry: it's not here. That's hard to find in a modern action-drama.The downside was that despite the above, the story just wasn't that memorable to me. Also, I have serious questions about the slant in here. Knowing the film world, I know which way it would be politically and, frankly, I don't know the real story....but as a movie, it's not bad.

GeneralB This was a pretty good film, about the real life story of the archbishop of EL Salvador, Oscar Romero. Raul Julia gives a good performance as the title character. The music is effective and interesting; at times it sounds almost like helicopter blades. If you close your eyes when you watch the beginning, you could almost think this film was about Vietnam. Some aspects of this film were not that great though. Some scenes appeared to be cut off too early or in odd ways.