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Movies / On DVD / John Q
John Q

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John Q (2002)

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Reviews Counted:127

Fresh:28

Rotten:99

Average Rating:4.4/10

Consensus: Washington's performance rises above the material, but John Q pounds the audience over the head with its message.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for violence, language, and some intense thematic elements

Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Feb 15, 2002 Wide

Box Office: $71,026,631

Synopsis: John Q. Archibald (Denzel Washington) is struggling through a recession trying to provide for his son Mikey (Daniel E. Smith) and his waitress wife (Kimberly Elise). Mikey collapses at a Little... John Q. Archibald (Denzel Washington) is struggling through a recession trying to provide for his son Mikey (Daniel E. Smith) and his waitress wife (Kimberly Elise). Mikey collapses at a Little League game and is rushed to a hospital. The situation is bleak. Only a heart transplant will save Mikey's life. John's HMO refuses to cover the expensive surgery. With the hospital and his insurance provider unwilling to help and his wife pleading with John to act, he takes matters into his own hands, holding the hospital's renowned heart surgeon (James Woods) and several others hostage in an emergency care wing until the surgery will be performed. Nick Cassavetes directed this attack on the American health care system. Like his previous feature, SHE'S SO LOVELY, Cassavetes proves adept at mining the political ramifications out of human drama. The film criticizes hospitals and health care providers for working in collusion against the working class. This moving drama is propelled by the intense lead performance by Washington as one man against an unjust system. [More]

Starring: Denzel Washington, Robert Duvall, Anne Heche, James Woods

Starring: Denzel Washington, Robert Duvall, Anne Heche, James Woods, Ray Liotta, Kimberly Elise, Daniel E. Smith, Shawn Hatosy, Eddie Griffin, Kevin Connolly, Troy Winbush

Director: Nick Cassavetes

Director: Nick Cassavetes
Screenwriter: James Kearns
Producer: Mark Burg, Oren Koules
Composer: Aaron Zigman
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Release:

Jul 16, 2002

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Reviews for John Q

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41 - 60 (sorted by date)
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I usually appreciate it when a movie takes a stand, but not when its approach is so juvenile.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
04/10/02
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
03/27/02
Boston Phoenix

Manipulative sentimentality, contrived plot and phony climax.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
03/13/02
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's grimly fascinating to watch fine actors wrestle with the increasingly awful screenplay.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
03/09/02
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

With the bump and sputter of an Indie, the big names and strong acting pull the viewer through this propaganda piece by the heart.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
03/06/02
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

A sappy, melodramatic Denzel Washington vehicle that ensnares you in the standard hostage-movie scenario and doesn't let go until the director runs the whole playbook.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
03/04/02
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If you can imagine Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington's former '80's TV series St. Elsewhere crossed with the engrossing urgency of Dog Day Afternoon, then you'll have Nick Cassavetes's sanctimonious and awkward hostage hospital drama

Full Review Source: Movie Eye | comment Comment
03/04/02
Frank Ochieng
Frank Ochieng
Movie Eye

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
03/02/02
Hollywood.com

In case you haven't figured it out, John Q is a Message Movie. Actually, it's more like a 2-hour Public Service Announcement.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
02/25/02
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

Denzel Washington's efforts are sunk by all the sanctimony.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
02/25/02
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

[Denzel Washington] not only rescues a very questionable movie, but lends it a sense of dignity and moral weight that it couldn't hope to achieve on its own.

Full Review Source: Flipside Movie Emporium | comment Comment
02/25/02
Rob Vaux
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Modamag.com | comment Comment
02/24/02
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
Modamag.com

Had the filmmakers soft-pedaled their important message and focused more on real human dilemmas, John Q. might have risen above its deep genre roots to push more emotional buttons and fewer unintentional laughs.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
02/24/02
Doris Toumarkine
Doris Toumarkine
Film Journal International

It pulls out more stops than that old silent serial The Perils of Pauline. Unfortunately, it's a talkie.

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
02/24/02
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
02/24/02
Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Austin Chronicle

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
02/24/02
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A film that might have made its points more convincingly if its makers hadn't felt obliged to underline and spell out at length every one of those points.

comment Comment
02/22/02
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
New Times

Cassavetes thinks he's making Dog Day Afternoon with a cause, but all he's done is to reduce everything he touches to a shrill, didactic cartoon.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
02/21/02
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

...a ridiculous script that gets just about everything wrong...

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
02/19/02
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I dig the message but prefer a better use of Mr. Washington's many talents.

Full Review Source: BeatBoxBetty.com | comment Comment
02/19/02
BeatBoxBetty.com
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for John Q

November 27, 2008: Wellsphere.com: The Denzel Washington John Q Interview Opens in new window
More...

March 23, 2006: Critical Consensus: "Inside Man" is Certified Fresh, Second Best-Reviewed Wide Release Of
Tension: it's the key to many a film, and this week's wide releases bring three variants on that theme. We've got a hostage situation ("Inside Man"), class conflict... More...

February 22, 2006: Cassavetes Working on Fact-Based "Bomb"
Filmmaker Nick Cassavetes will soon get to work on "Bombing Harvey," a fact-based tale of a Hungarian scientist who tried to plant a bomb in a Lake Tahoe casino in an... More...

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