Waco: American Apocalypse
Netflix | Release Date: March 22, 2023
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 9 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMar 21, 2023
Season 1 Review: In addition to some impressive computer-generated imagery, never-before-seen footage of the FBI negotiation units during the standoff and previously unreleased news footage, “Waco: American Apocalypse” features a number of sobering and insightful, in-depth interviews. Read full review
80
The TimesCarol MidgleyMar 23, 2023
Season 1 Review: It is a thorough, balanced, immersive and eerily atmospheric examination of a horrific stand-off in which 86 people, including 25 children, died. Read full review
80
CNNBrian LowryMar 22, 2023
Season 1 Review: The answers aren’t always clear or what one might expect, but as such documentaries go, the effect is a frequently riveting view of an “American Apocalypse,” then and now. Read full review
80
The TelegraphAnita Singh Mar 22, 2023
Season 1 Review: The interviewees speak fluently and in vivid detail, while never-seen-before footage from the time brings those events sharply into focus. Read full review
70
DeciderJoel KellerMar 22, 2023
Season 1 Review: Waco: American Apocalypse sticks mostly to the nuts and bolts of the Waco siege, making for an effective narrative about an incident that was one of 1993’s top stories. Read full review
70
Rolling StoneChris VognarMar 22, 2023
Season 1 Review: Through interviews with all parties and never-before-seen footage, he wants to explore the facts, through all the fog of war and vehement disagreement. And he succeeds more often than not. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonMar 21, 2023
Season 1 Review: There’s a bit more narration than explanation in this three-part documentary series, though a deep dive into the personal enriches the storytelling. ... "Waco" suffers from a few missing details. ... At the same time, it features people very close to the subject being very open about what happened, even if, when all is said and done, they don't understand it now any better than they did in 1993. Read full review
60
The GuardianLucy ManganMar 22, 2023
Season 1 Review: The first episode concentrates almost entirely on the first raid, virtually recreating it in real time. What it doesn’t do here or in the succeeding episodes is contextualise or dig deeper into events. ... A braver documentary might have wanted to investigate a route from Mount Carmel 1993 to Capitol Hill 2021 but this one is happy to settle for spectacle and survivors’ stories over substance. Which is not to say the survivors’ stories aren’t moving. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comNick AllenMar 22, 2023
Season 1 Review: Russell’s series only offers fuzzy hindsight—it does not suggest we’ve established a more tactful way to understand these experiences but found another flashy way to package a sensational true story. Read full review
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