John Q
New Line Cinema | Release Date: February 15, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
30
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
15
Negative:
14
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
50
New York PostJonathan Foreman
Not a movie but a live-action agitprop cartoon so shameless and coarse, it's almost funny. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
It's as forgettable as they come. Read full review
50
SlateDavid Edelstein
Denzel Washington is so powerfully earnest an actor that you never want to laugh at him -- even when you ought to be in stitches. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The movie could have used a brain transplant. It doesn't explore injustice -- it just exploits it. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Like a tone-deaf singer at a benefit concert, John Q. is a bad movie appearing on behalf of a good cause. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
More hokey than heartfelt. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
Waste in the health care system is deplorable, but waste on the movie screen isn't so great either. Read full review
50
Film ThreatMichael Dequina
With its simplistic, didactic approach, the presence of a top-flight ensemble is the only thing separating John Q from your average TV movie of the week. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Washington's fire and righteous anger can only do so much, and the token grit amounts to a few grains of sand in the sentimental machinery. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
It's not honest, and it's certainly no solution. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Turns out to be hopelessly mediocre -- a poorly scripted, preachy fable that forgets about unfolding a coherent, believable story in its zeal to spread propaganda. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Gripping, if manipulative and somewhat preposterous, drama. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeJay Carr
A well-intentioned but self-defeatingly manipulative film that amounts to an impassioned commercial for national health care. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The movie's tone and plot twists are so ludicrously overwrought that even Washington's admirably restrained performance -- can't rescue it from its own excesses. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyJohn Patterson
A coercive script by James Kearns, and some middling direction by Nick Cassavetes, can't rob the movie of an undeniable, headlong crowd-pleasing power. Read full review
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