Why We Fight
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: January 20, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
6
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
It's impossible to imagine anyone, right-leaning or left, coming away from this hugely important documentary unshaken by its representation of the United States and its military establishment. Read full review
100
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
It's a topical, iconoclastic documentary with the warmth and pace of a first-rate personal essay. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Jarecki is no glib ideologue thumbing his nose at power. Read full review
90
VarietyRobert Koehler
Picture sets the gold standard for political documentaries. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Why We Fight deserves high praise for making it that much tougher to wear blinders. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy Burr
An agit-doc of unusual depth. It has a point -- that the primary business of America over the past half-century has been waging war -- and it supports that point with nuance, research, and a willingness to hear the other side of the argument. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
There's plenty of ammunition here for liberal conspiracy theorists, which surely will limit the audience to those already in Jarecki's political camp. Which is too bad, for it is a sobering history lesson as well as a political polemic on foreign policy and the growth of war into America's biggest business. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
A film that stands out for its passion, ambition and clarion-call sincerity, even amid the contemporary onslaught of political documentaries. Read full review
80
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Memo to left-wing anti-Bushies: Stories like this work. Don't lecture. Tell stories! Much better! Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Canny and somewhat overwhelming documentary. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Ultimately, Why We Fight reveals itself as yet another leftie doc with an anti-war agenda. But the mere fact that it takes time to ask questions and listen to opposing viewpoints sets it apart from the pack. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
In addition to the usual pontificators like Gore Vidal, whose world weariness has assumed Olympian proportions, the director provides interviews with such right-wing counterparts as Richard Perle and William Kristol. Nobody is allowed much time to develop an argument. Read full review
75
USA TodayMike Clark
The result isn't quite a Michael Moore movie without the hubris, but it's reasonably close. It's thoughtful, and you have to take it seriously and with respect. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
It's a deeply provocative piece of filmmaking. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Whether we've reached the critical mass of "misplaced power" is the gist of the current national debate, and Why We Fight is a useful tool in that argument. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleNeva Chonin
A somber polemic that presents a convincing case against using war as an economic booster -- although, Jarecki argues, that is precisely what the United States has been doing under every president since Truman. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Why We Fight attempts, somewhat sketchily, to connect the dots between Ike's Cassandra-like warnings and current events. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
There's no denying the particular political slant of Why We Fight, but Jarecki's thoughtful, nonconfrontational approach makes it absorbing viewing, regardless of whether or not you buy his arguments. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The strength of this documentary lies in its balance, or at least the careful appearance of balance. Read full review
70
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Jarecki's film forcefully argues that the much abused word FREEDOM cannot paper over the conflicts between capitalism and democracy. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
The long line of recent muckraking documentaries that has preceded Why We Fight does nothing to diminish its force. Read full review
70
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
Jarecki says that his film doesn't precisely answer the question in his title. He is mistaken. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverJean Oppenheimer
Adding to the film's underlying sense of urgency and unease is composer Robert Miller's haunting score, so reminiscent of Philip Glass' music for "The Fog of War." Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Despite Jarecki's varied success in bringing these six people's stories to life, their stories personalize our current geopolitical predicament and remind us that in a democracy no one can shrug off responsibility for the war. Read full review
60
NewsweekDavid Ansen
This scary, eye-opening documentary looks back from a post-9/11 vantage point to see how Ike’s prophecy has come horribly true. Read full review
50
The New YorkerDavid Denby
Unconvincing and ineffective; the many patches of ideological montage, growing like kudzu throughout the film, weaken the impact of its best moments. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Mr. Jarecki forcefully, if not with wholesale persuasiveness, argues that our business is specifically war. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie tells us nothing we haven't heard before. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneAllison Benedikt
A pretty entertaining case against our current war and question the integrity of our president, but more than that, these docs manipulate imagery, music and sound bites to work their audiences into a frenzy. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
There may not be two equal sides to every argument, but in giving such little credence to those who might oppose him, Jarecki makes us wonder what exactly it is he’s so afraid of. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
This rehash of familiar pacifist arguments offers neither heat nor light. It's "Fahrenheit: Room Temperature." Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Mr. Jarecki undercuts his own case -- not just undercuts but carpet-bombs it -- by using the same propaganda techniques he professes to abhor.
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