The Hunting of the President
Regent Releasing | Release Date: June 18, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
12
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Riveting and revealing whatever views you have on the partisan issues involved. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
I'm not sure the filmmakers - one, Harry Thomason, is a long-time Friend of Bill - have connected enough dots to prove a "vast" conspiracy. But that many people devoted much of their lives and resources to destroying Clinton is indisputable. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The film is a sobering chronicle of the depressing circus of persecution and pseudo-scandal that was the Clinton years. But why did the President provoke such ire? A movie with insight into that might actually feel new. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Makes a persuasive case. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Effective piece of election-year propaganda. Read full review
70
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
The message is clear, and powerfully told. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMichael King
The film doesn't have the book's detail or range, and by turns it's portentous with trumped-up melodrama or overreaches for lame comedy. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
It's the old-fashioned verities of documentary filmmaking that serve Thomason and Perry best. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneAllison Benedikt
Although the film presents plenty of compelling material, it suffers from the same weakness of "Fahrenheit 9/11": an utter lack of dot connection. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
This gripping documentary contends that some shockingly sleazy efforts to undermine Clinton's character and authority were very real. Read full review
60
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Make no mistake. This is partisan filmmaking at its most gleefully unapologetic. Unless they're also masochists, Bill Clinton haters and Ken Starr fans will know better than to buy a ticket. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
Worthy of being seen as more than a potential double-bill partner for "Fahrenheit 9/11." Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Like the former first lady, the filmmakers go slightly overboard. Read full review
60
SlateDavid Edelstein
A simple, chronological history, narrated with melancholy gravitas by Morgan Freeman. Read full review
50
VarietyDennis Harvey
Content is engrossing (if so fast-paced that uninformed viewers might easily get lost), but packaging is sometimes questionable. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
A superficial documentary based on a best-selling book by Joe Conason and Gene Lyons -- which is being released just before the ex-president's memoir hits the bookstores. Read full review
50
The New York TimesDave Kehr
In a misguided attempt to break up the monotonous flow of talking heads, the filmmakers have inserted oddly chosen clips from newsreels and public-domain features, meant to illustrate abstract concepts (like eavesdropping or government) while generating some low-level laughs. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
It uses numerous hoary techniques -- including tabloid-television-style editing and ominous background music -- that tend to detract from the seriousness of the issues being addressed. Morgan Freeman delivers the portentous narration. Read full review
40
Washington PostMichael Powell
Something far more consequential looms in the wings. And that renders The Hunting of the President the feel of a sideshow Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyRon Stringer
They have succeeded in establishing conservative ideologue Ken Starr as one of American prosecutorial history's biggest heels and Clinton loyalist Susan McDougal as a bona fide hero and martyr. The problem, of course, is that the president himself was neither, and no amount of hand wringing -- however justified -- can make him one. Read full review
40
Dallas ObserverMelissa Levine
Undermines itself with tabloid-style narration, overly emphatic graphics, and a sensationalistic tone. Read full review
30
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Overwrought and often hysterical, filled with distracting montages and portentous drumbeats, the documentary feels as cheesy as its subject. Read full review
30
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
What a shame that The Hunting Of The President feels like part of the problem. Read full review
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