A moving morality play indicting America for its ongoing love affair with the Second Amendment.
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01/29/07
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American Gun (2006)
38
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:29
Fresh:11
Rotten:18
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: Despite its intriguing premise, this earnest anti-gun polemic is too melodramatic to resonate.
Theatrical Release:2006
Synopsis: AMERICAN GUN is a powerful series of interwoven storylines that bring to light how the proliferation of guns in America dramatically affect and shape the every day lives of its citizens. The film... [More]
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Nikki Reed, Marcia Gay Harden
Director: Aric Avelino
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Reviews for American Gun
It isn't trite or strident - it doesn't shout or pound the desk - and, in a way, its own thoughtfulness is its worst enemy.
05/19/06
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05/14/07
What we're left with after watching "American Gun" isn't a sense of who's right or who's wrong, but more of a sadness that so many people feel so powerless and afraid that they think owning a gun will set things right.
04/21/06
[Avelino] shows an almost tender restraint in his story-telling, not pounding us with a message but simply looking steadily at how guns have made these lives difficult.
04/06/06
Top CriticWhile not a perfect movie by any means -- a few scenes feel forced -- there is plenty to recommend it, even beyond the truly great performances.
04/06/06
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04/29/09
The guns seem to have been shoved in various characters' pockets as afterthought, and Avelino's interlocking stories never click.
04/07/06
American Gun arrives in theaters too late to really make a difference or say anything new on the subject of school shootings.
04/28/06
It’s so well done.
03/28/06
Top Critic...more like talking points for a film than a finished product. The effects of violence and the gun trade are examined, but little light is shed.
03/24/06
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05/06/06
takes too many shortcuts and easy-outs in exploring the issue
08/29/06
[T]his is no bit of cheap exploitation created merely to rake in some dough. But purity of motives aside, the film simply isn't very good.
04/25/06
Actually PAY MONEY to see this in a theater? No way.
03/24/06
Painfully earnest but dramatically inert.
09/13/05
Top CriticDespite a few effective moments, Gun ... never makes the big statement it seems to be reaching for.
04/21/06
While the movie feigns objectivity, it’s clear from the start that, for Avelino and co-writer Steven Bagatourian, there’s not a scenario imaginable in which having a firearm on hand would be preferable to not having one.
03/23/06
While this is not exactly a hopeful movie, it's a polished exercise in the kind of social commentary that can wake people up.
03/24/06
Top CriticHandy rule of thumb for first- time filmmakers: No more than one crying scene per film, please. Like any other commodity, tears aren't worth much if they're overstocked.
03/23/06
Top CriticLatest News for American Gun
November 28, 2006:
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