0
There'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.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
40
The Hollywood Reporter by Frank Scheck
For 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.
58
The A.V. Club by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
These 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.
50
Los Angeles Times by Martin Tsai
If 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.
50
Village Voice by Michael Nordine
Skin Trade's action is all blood and sinew, but its camerawork and choreography are nothing if not graceful.
30
Snapping necks and shooting limbs have rarely been carried out in service of such a principled cause — or been executed with such formulaic tedium.
38
Skin 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.
50
Everyone’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.
75
RogerEbert.com by Simon Abrams
This movie's makers haven't met a formula cliché that they don't like.