Chicago 10
Roadside Attractions | Release Date: February 29, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
69
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Morgen plunges viewers completely into the anarchic, exhilarating, finally ambiguous world of 1968 America; his final stroke of genius is his choice of music, which includes a breathtaking use of Eminem's "Mosh." Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Brett Morgen (The Kid Stays in the Picture) has made an electrifying picture. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The result is Grade-A agitpop, a mixture of archival footage and cheeky, creative animated reconstruction that's funny and frightening in equal measure. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Sometimes the best way to relate history is to tinker with it and make it feel like a living thing. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
In its best moments, and they are considerable, Chicago 10 makes you see 1968, that near-apocalyptic year, with fresh eyes, as an extraordinary turning point in history now at least partly set free from boomer nostalgia and regret. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Chicago 10 is well worth seeing, if only because a good half of the film is devoted to extraordinary footage of the four days of rage that spawned the trial. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneSid Smith
Morgen’s best achievement is the news footage, more detailed looks at events outside the Conrad Hilton Hotel and in Chicago parks than you typically see on TV rehashes. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
Chicago 10 is a lot of fun, but it could stand to take its subjects a little more seriously, if only because they themselves are so frequently goofy that mocking them is complete overkill. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The defendants – especially Hoffman and Rubin – baited elderly Judge Julius J. Hoffman, who never failed to take the bait; Seale was so obstreperous that Hoffman had him gagged and bound to a chair, another indelible image. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
A provocative reflection of its rule-breaking subjects, Brett Morgen's political documentary re-examines the past while drawing unmissable parallels to the present. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Worth seeing for the expert archival selections, but a decidedly mixed bag for anyone familiar, or unfamiliar, with the times. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
Offers compelling footage, but its revisionism can be distracting. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The movie conveys the drama of the moment but eschews context. The result is an arresting yet frustrating experience. Read full review
70
Film ThreatJeremy Mathews
The movie stylishly portrays the story of the Chicago Seven with archival footage and animated sequences. Without reference to or retrospection from the present, Morgen crafts a film that is as pertinent as ever. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
A vibrantly crafted evocation of a convulsive moment in 20th century American history, Chicago 10 is far less interested in offering a fresh, probing look at what took place on the streets during the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the circus trial that followed than it is in celebrating the stars of the anti-war movement and rallying the current generation to follow their examples. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
Morgen's decision to avoid talking heads recounting events and find a way to dramatize them instead is consistent with his intention for the film. The director wants to bring recent history to life for people who weren't around to witness it, and in that he succeeds pretty admirably. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleJosh Rosenblatt
Equal parts tragedy and comedy, high drama and low farce. Read full review
63
PremiereGlenn Kenny
The courtroom scenes are the animated ones…and said animation looks rather cruder than your average PS3 game. Read full review
60
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
However authentically chaotic, Chicago 10 is insufficiently frenzied. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
An ambitious and occasionally illuminating hybrid documentary. But a cacophony of sights and sounds and a disjointed narrative dilute the message. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Brett Morgen’s semi-animated, semi-documentary attempt to make the ’60s cool for a new generation of kids, does the opposite. It is a narrow, glib dollop of canned history, an affirmation of received thinking rather than a challenge to it. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
Chicago 10 has interesting moments, but basically it's a teaser for Steven Spielberg's upcoming feature on the trial. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The movie's effectiveness is distorted by its hero-worship of the Chicago defendants. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Given the filmmaker's privileged perspective of hindsight, to not consider the real-world repercussions of their theater, to not connect the dots between 1968 and 2008 is a squandered opportunity. Read full review
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