Exterminate All the Brutes
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Apr 7, 2021
User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 40 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 40
  3. Negative: 19 out of 40
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User Reviews

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  1. Basyl
    Aug 17, 2021
    0
    blatantly hateful rant against the "white" civilization passed as an HBO "documentary"
  2. GamingUnites
    Apr 11, 2021
    3
    Whilst this 'documentary' (it's more of an opinion piece) crams many different parts of history into its episodes, it's unfortunately so hell-bent on constant, extreme vilification of Europe that it loses its ways on several occasions. It leads to the author contradicting himself, ignoring huge swathes of the global population and takes away the individuality and agency of pretty muchWhilst this 'documentary' (it's more of an opinion piece) crams many different parts of history into its episodes, it's unfortunately so hell-bent on constant, extreme vilification of Europe that it loses its ways on several occasions. It leads to the author contradicting himself, ignoring huge swathes of the global population and takes away the individuality and agency of pretty much everyone.

    For example, he claims that early white populations were uncivilised and stupid but later says their superiority over the sub-Saharan nations was due to their ingenuity and advanced culture.

    He tries to lead us to believe that persecutors and victims alike are simply helpless against fate and the happenstance of geographical features; the lands are ancestors originated in. This implies that we're all victims of chance and takes away the notion we are free-thinking and self-governing as a species.

    Throughout all this, he cheerfully ignores the advanced civilisations that were present in Asia, the Middle-East AND Northern Africa that also exploited 'Black' Africa, instead focusing solely on 'white' people - presumably because they are the focus of his ire and the only real message is 'white people are evil'.

    It's hard to take a documentary that ignores so much of the world and its contribution to advanced technologies seriously.

    Lastly, he belabors points over and over, using unnecessary melodrama and grim voice overs. It's more like propaganda than academic research. For example, he'll espouse gravitas laden quotes such as, 'There are no alternate facts' even though it's mostly highly arguable opinions he's giving us. It's as if he feels the quotes mean something in and of themselves simply because they're so solemn sounding.

    Simply put, this is a guilt-filled, middle-class white persons wet-dream of a documentary and will no doubt be praised to high heaven by the vast majority of critics and prove immensely popular among the young in particular. In a sense, it's the Emperor's New Clothes of documentaries; there's nothing to see here really but it'll be fashionable to cheer and applaud it like mad.

    Oh, and he seems to really, REALLY dislike the Scots & the Irish.    … Expand
  3. Thelog32
    Apr 9, 2021
    10
    This is essential viewing. Plain and simple. No other group of people has created so much global havoc. The colonialist empire that spread from west from Europe and south from the United States is responsible for sustained atrocities that have lasted centuries. If you subscribe to the ideologies of American exceptionalism or euro-centric exceptionalism then you will not like this series,This is essential viewing. Plain and simple. No other group of people has created so much global havoc. The colonialist empire that spread from west from Europe and south from the United States is responsible for sustained atrocities that have lasted centuries. If you subscribe to the ideologies of American exceptionalism or euro-centric exceptionalism then you will not like this series, as your entire world view is based on a lie. If you are open to trying to understand the complexity of our current global situation and how capital has been a catalyst for genocide then you will gain a lot out of what is here.… Expand
  4. HaVoK308
    Apr 7, 2021
    0
    Complete and utter racist trash. Unbelievable level of revisionist history. The definition of clown world. We are in the upside down.
  5. Cinemacriterion
    Apr 9, 2021
    10
    This is a fantastic documentary and a must see for everyone. Bravo to everybody involved.
  6. OlivierPiel
    Apr 11, 2021
    0
    Utterly simplistic and disgustingly sanctimonious. And quite simply as racist, if not more, as the people "the West" he accuses. To claim that white people have an ingrained sense of destruction is as dumb as to say black people can dance or jump higher than others.
    Rather, the explanation lies in simple demographics and -shared- natural, human, all too human as Friedrich would say,    Utterly simplistic and disgustingly sanctimonious. And quite simply as racist, if not more, as the people "the West" he accuses. To claim that white people have an ingrained sense of destruction is as dumb as to say black people can dance or jump higher than others.
    Rather, the explanation lies in simple demographics and -shared- natural, human, all too human as Friedrich would say, instincts that we see in apes and other species, the will to power.

    Gengis Khan, Oda Nobunaga, Idi Amin Dada, Pol Pot, Ayatholla Khomeini were not white, so they were OK I guess? The Incas and the Mayans used torture as mass entertainment, cool bruh? Muslim enslaved Africa and Europeans way before the salve trade! Oh fun fact, the ethnic "Slav" (people of Eastern Europe) is what gave the name slaves! You know white people, with blond hair!    … Expand
  7. metacritiqueur
    Apr 12, 2021
    1
    HBO shows since 5 years = hate of the whites peoples. Every shows, you can verify. Madness.
  8. hharvey102
    Apr 17, 2021
    10
    This is the way history should be presented. Sadly, seeing the negative user reviews shows we are doomed despite such efforts to enlighten.
  9. lukamagic
    Apr 16, 2021
    5
    The least self-aware documentary I have ever seen. Peck claims the white Europeans hypocritically demonized other peoples, and proceeds to do the exact same thing throughout the entire series.
  10. kevjot
    Apr 24, 2021
    10
    Hard to watch at times. European culture contributed much to the world, but it seems many of us still refuse to accept the reality of the countless less-than-glorious things (to put it mildly) that at our ancestors did, and how brutal it was. The pushback in the user reviews speaks volumes.
  11. jagermeister
    Aug 31, 2021
    10
    “To accept one’s past—one’s history—is not the same thing as drowning in it,” “it is learning how to use it.”

Awards & Rankings

27
#27 Best TV Season of 2021
52
#52 Most Discussed TV Season of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Universal acclaim - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Vox.com
    Reviewed by: Alissa Wilkinson
    Apr 9, 2021
    100
    From a pure filmmaking perspective, Exterminate All the Brutes may be unparalleled among TV docuseries; the closest I can think of is the complexity and contextualization evident in the 2016 Oscar-winning 10-part series O.J.: Made in America. Peck doesn’t rely on tired visual tropes or techniques that would make it easy to just put on the show in the background while you’re doing something else. He demands our attention with wit, craft, and well-placed anger.
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  2. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Stephen Robinson
    Apr 9, 2021
    100
    The documentary feels fresh and current next to the ongoing debate over America’s past and iconography. ... What we do with the knowledge we gain from this amazing work is the question that Peck leaves unanswered.
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  3. Decider
    Reviewed by: Joel Keller
    Apr 7, 2021
    80
    Despite starting off a bit all over the place, Raoul Peck’s Exterminate All The Brutes has a lot to say about a part of Western civilization’s history that absolutely needs to see the light of day.
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