Slumdog Millionare Review

Synopsis:
Jamal Malik, an 18-year-old from the notorious slums of Mumbai, becomes a contestant on the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Despite having very little education, he answers all of the questions correctly. The police, suspicious that Jamal cheated because it is impossible for a "slumdog" to know all of the answers, detain him. After he is arrested, Jamal recounts the events in his life that provide him with the answer. These flashbacks form the premise of the the rest of the film. Among Jamal's flashbacks is his love interest Latika, who is from the same slums as Jamal. Escaping from a gangster, Latika is separated from Jamal. Jamal goes on the show in order to be found by Latika, who regularly watches it. The ensuing story tells the tale of their reunion.

Critical Review 1:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/4362622/Slumdog-Millionaire-may-be-a-good-cause-but-its-not-a-good-movie.html
This critics judges Boyle's characters to be undeveloped stereotypes, removed from the truth of the "complexities and heartbreaks of real life". It further criticizes the fact that it perhaps portrays the idea that "everyone in India is a criminal, a fool, a saint or a convenient mix of all three". The author majorly takes issue with the impossibility of the situation, and the focus on this very impossible question than on the social issues it skims through.

Furthermore, the reviewer slams Boyle for trying to do too much: "Boyle simply tries to rick as many boxes as possible", suggesting that the mix of all of his separate elements do not necessarily function together.  It does applaud the good case of the film, noting the ambition of the director to draw attention to the issues that plague poverty-ridden regions.

Critical Review 2:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/movies/12slum.html
This reviewer offers a balanced critique, praising the elements that heighten the film's mystique while offering a skeptical view of the ostentatious elements of Bollywood forced into the film.
The film embraces Simon Beaufoy's screenplay, saying that it "embraces a fluid view of time and space, effortlessly between the young contestant's past and his present..Here, narrative doesn't begin and end: it flows and eddies - just like life." It also praises the young actors' appeal and ability to draw symapthy from any audience. Boyle's "upbeat pitch and seductive visual style (with cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle)" is also highly regarded.

The problem this reviewer takes is with the synthetic feel of the film: "what gives me reluctant pause about this bright, cheery, hard-to-resist movie is that its joyfulness feels more like a filmmaker’s calculation than an honest cry from the heart about the human spirit". His technique, perhaps, is beautiful but the emotion may not be genuine.