The Final Year

Name: The Final Year
Genre: Documentary
Released: January 19, 2018
Duration: 89 min
Rating: 67
Cast: Barack Obama, Ben Rhodes, John Kerry, Samantha Power

2018

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 9 Ratings

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5.7

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5.7	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 9 Ratings

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The Final Year

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Movie Details & Credits

Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: January 19, 2018 | Not Rated

Starring: Barack Obama, Ben Rhodes, John Kerry, Samantha Power

Summary: A sweeping, insiders' account of President Barack Obama's foreign policy team during their final year as they set out to define their legacy, promote diplomacy - and react to the unexpected rise of Donald Trump. Featuring unprecedented access inside the White House, the State Department, and the machinery of American power.

Director: Greg Barker

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 89 min

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Critic Reviews

John Hartl

Jan 18, 2018

In the end, The Final Year can offer only the perspective of time and history as a consolation. Read full review

Frank Scheck

Nov 9, 2017

It’s the little moments that provide the most fascination. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Matt Zoller Seitz

Jan 19, 2018

As an evocation of on-the-ground political reality, The Final Year is a a solid and often entertaining work in much the same wheelhouse as the durable political documentary "The War Room." Read full review

David Edelstein

Jan 19, 2018

The movie is barely an hour and a half but feels dense, and exhausting, as Barker skips among three protagonists who are up against a ticking clock. Read full review

Clint Worthington

Jan 16, 2018

The Final Year may feel like a fly-on-the-wall production, but there’s an element of careful curation in the personalities and events shown that undercuts some of their earnestness. Read full review

Anthony Lane

Jan 22, 2018

The Final Year is stirring and saddening, but too well behaved by half; I wanted it to be a little less Steven Pinker and a little more Dwayne Johnson. I wanted the huge fight. Read full review

Scott Tobias

Nov 9, 2017

The Final Year clings to a precooked thesis about the Obama Doctrine that misses the behind-the-scenes drama and candor of superior political documentaries like “The War Room” or “Weiner.” Read full review

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User Reviews

GrantD243

Jun 26, 2019

It covers the final year of a lot of people in his administration very well, but I was hoping for more time with Obama himself. Still a well crafted documentary, though.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

DrBlahBlah

Jul 6, 2018

This is little more than a pile of empty cliches and propaganda for the Obama administration (and I say that as a liberal). His foreign policy was more destructive and problematic than Bush's, and this documentary shamelessly celebrates it.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

mak3nsh1

May 24, 2018

The only worthwhile part to this movie is the ending. This is an obvious plea to create a more positive light for the Obama administration.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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