I usually appreciate it when a movie takes a stand, but not when its approach is so juvenile.
John Q (2002)
Tomatometer
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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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Reviews for John Q
It's grimly fascinating to watch fine actors wrestle with the increasingly awful screenplay.
With the bump and sputter of an Indie, the big names and strong acting pull the viewer through this propaganda piece by the heart.
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.
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
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.
[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.
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.
It pulls out more stops than that old silent serial The Perils of Pauline. Unfortunately, it's a talkie.
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.
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.
I dig the message but prefer a better use of Mr. Washington's many talents.
Latest News for John Q
November 27, 2008:
Wellsphere.com: The Denzel Washington John Q Interview ![]()
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...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
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