Metacritic reviews

A cracking slice of old-fashioned, widescreen entertainment.

Good old-fashioned movie storytelling that steadily builds, over the course of nearly three hours, to a white-knuckle conclusion that satisfies on nearly every level.

Though the film is as long as the escape route, Richter's brisk direction keeps us riveted through the suspenseful finish of his vivid history lesson.

So many twists and turns, it seems like fiction.

There are few moments when you're not totally absorbed by the film.

The Tunnel boasts the kind of plot that would seem ridiculously implausible if it weren't based on a true story.

The film convincingly portrays the devastating, life-altering hardships and restrictions that the residents of the divided Berlin endured.

Director Roland Suso Richter maintains tension for 2 1/2 hours, even though the resolution is almost surreal.

Genuinely gripping, balancing the travails of constructing the tunnel against the characters' stories with considerable skill.

Director Roland Suso Richter skillfully wields the wall as a metaphor for isolation, but his pacing needs work: He cuts from an emotional death to a rowdy scene of sex on a kitchen table. Well, that's one way to mourn.