StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Blucher One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Osmosis Iron You just can't escape the violence can you? It justifies the "violence" in it's name more than enough! Shows that Cronenberg can do excellent comic book adaptations as well as creepy sci-fi.

danialpham-24541 It's rare to see the kind of acting that keeps your attention span these days. This is one of those films you just want to pop the play button without reading too many reviews. Nothing short of a raw array of emotions are displayed inside these frames. A nice touch of gore that isn't too overbearing, just enough to keep things interesting. After all, the title does include the word violence.With that being said, I definitely consider this to be an adult only film because the subtle leads into the murder and sex scenes are just bittersweet. Some very powerful acting within the nuclear family packing a punch on execution in portraying the complexities between chaos and peace.The polarities were sinfully good, enough to make you wonder who the director was.

zenpunks ...sums it up for me. I didn't have a great deal of expectation as I got to see this movie for free on Amazon Prime -missed it when it was first out. The film is 12 years old but it's bad now and for it's time -as much as movies have changed and audiences have gotten smarter -it doesn't matter a well done movie is a well done movie period from any time and this isn't! I agree with all the previous reviews in why the movie is lacking: underdeveloped story and characters - ridiculous action scenes that lack suspense, surprise and might as well be in slow motion -sex scenes and full frontal nudity that are completely out of place and no real history to the characters beside Toms'(Viggo Mortensen) "history of violence" which isn't ever really fully explained -he screwed with bad people in his shady past- I don't care enough about the character to care! I'd be more interested in how he came to this small town and chose to stay, how he met his wife and how they fell in love and the changes that happen to him as he becomes a husband, a father and a better person. All of that is just assumed in a sophomoric connect the dots kind of way as should be expected based on a graphic novel -there is a deeper, fuller, much better story here that's never realized -it's too bad cause David Cronenberg has done much better work (check out The Dead Zone) - (*spoiler alert*) the whole killing off of the 3 bad guys (including Ed Harris' character) and how that is swept under the rug -where is the town reaction, news etc. -after such a big deal was made about Tom being a hero??? someone already in the spotlight would have even more attention on them just days later after a triple murder on their property??? I feel like this movie should have been much longer and should have taken at least 30-40 minutes or more to establish itself and Tom's life in small town (Millbrook, Indiana) America -before the bad guys show up (Think of the movie Witness and why we care about the characters...) And yes the movie has violence and to me it doesn't matter or work for the film - like Quentin Tarantino's movies are often violent but because they are so well done and you care about the characters the violence is a working part of the story and doesn't degrade it. This movie lacks everything: story, real characters and even violence that matters or works!!

Joropukki They rarely make movies like this any more. Only eleven years have gone since the premier of this film – and now you have to move over to TV to see anything like this. Seeing it for the third time tonight, I was vaguely reminded of the first season of True Detective and on second thought, the American Friend by the German Wim Wenders. The History of Violence could almost have been made in France or Germany. I've never been a fan of David Cronenberg. I think he's been showy and too shocking on purpose, not unlike another David – Lynch. I deeply disliked Twin Peaks, for instance – a pretentious, self-mystifying piece of crap. Here DC is on a good track. Even the music is great. It's fascinating to read the divided comments on this film. I like it because it's really very cinematic and thoughtful. Violence in it is obligatory – like in a Greek drama. I only give it an eight because the ending is prolonged and somehow contrived. Viggo and Wifey are great and the Sheriff very believable. The ending loses something of the spirit of this relative masterpiece.