Customer Reviews

John Q

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

"John Q" is good for some thought-provoking ideas and questions concerning the ever-growing problems with our nation's health care policies, as well as some hard-hitting performances from its arsenal of talented actors. For these reasons, the movie qualifies as an average crowd pleaser, though it's predictability, as well as some cloyed storytelling in its second half, keep it from being the powerful drama it aspires to be.

Washington gives an outstanding performance, but is dragged by Elise's crying.... This is not one of those movies that are only worth watching on video, it's a great movie that I recommend to everyone who's mature enough to watch a boy dying right in front of his parents, at 10. Think about that. One of Washington's best line in this film is," I will not bury my son, my son is going to bury me!" Denzel Washington is amazing as always, and I've seen most of his films, I've never once been disappointed. He can play anything, and his role as a caring father in this film was enough to make me want to rate this three stars alone. But once you throw in solid dialogue, a great plot and other supporting actors, you have yourself one truly great movie.

I was disappointed by one aspect of this movie: the fact that it wasn't released earlier that year, because Washington surely would've received an Oscar nomination for this instead of "Training Day". It's hard to not like this movie and impossible to not feel for the characters. I'll see this movie again and I hope that by reading this review you'll see it too.

Unfortunately, after playing an absolutely brilliant, richly layered bad guy in "Training Day", Washington has returned to soap opera melodrama where he is but one step away from sainthood. I figured some hack talked him into doing this film until I saw the director was Nick Cassevetes who made the wonderful "She's So Lovely." It's not that the subject isn't worthy of a film. The denial of health care to the average American is a very film worthy topic but maybe they needed to talk the likes of David Mamet into writing such a work. They sure didn't get such a script here. Washington takes an emergency room hostage in order to get his son the medical care he needs to save his life. The situation is then milked for every last bit of sentimentality possible and ends up a mawkish, over the top mess. Robert Duvall is wasted as a stereotypical cop negotiating a hostage situation. James Wood and Ann Heche are wasted as cardboard cutouts of a doctor (Woods) and medical administrator (Heche). I'd recommend instead getting your hands on a copy of George C. Scott in "The Hospital" from the 1970s if you want to see the same topic dealt with in dramatic yet also black comedy brilliance.

Denzel Washington does a great job, Daniel E Smith plays his part very well. They are what pulls the movie UP to 3 stars.

The writer of this movie over-dramatizes problems with the healthcare industry in the US. The hospital director is this tough woman who couldn't care less about patients. Doctors and rich people are made out to be evil. Then you throw in the young police chief who tries to be smarter than the older cop.

I felt like someone took what could have been a good story and made sure to add in as many politically correct, socialist storylines as possible. Where's Senator McCarthy when we need him?

I have always liked Hollywood movies that put the secret intelligence world on the spot:
Enemy of the State
Breach (Widescreen Edition)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

This movie is so on target, but I did not want to watch it because I tended to put it off as over the top. After watching Michael Moore's Sicko (Special Edition), I went and rented this movie and am glad I did. If you wish, read my review of Sicko before watching John Q.

I'm not going to give away the ending, there are many excellent reviews below, but the bottom line is that our medical system is totally corrupt, trapping good people in a very bad system. We need to change that.

John Q is very predictable and unrealistic. It has its moments, but you can pretty much figure out most of the movie about a quarter of the way through it. The biggest problem is the way people react to different situations throughout the film. This makes it very unbelievable and almost laughable. The overall message of the film about our healthcare system is alright, but it's something I think most people are aware of. The only thing good about this movie is Denzel Washington. As always, he does an excellent job with his character. Not worth buying or even watching unless you are a huge Denzel fan.

At the height of the HMO arrogance, Corporatized Medicine believed that they could mistreat human beings in the name of the dollar. I believe, I hope, that their attitude has taken a turn as they realized humanity will not be slapped down. Stir in the extra emotion of organ donation, in which one must die for another to live, and you have the electric tension of John Q.

John Archibald (Denzel Washington) is a good man, a hard worker, who just needs a little more luck and a few more hours at the slow factory job he holds. When his son, Mike (Daniel E. Smith) collapses at a baseball game, he is rushed to the hospital where John and his wife Denise (Kimberly Elise) discover that Mike needs a heart transplant, quickly.

But, John's insurance won't cover it. His company switched his health plan from a PPO to an HMO to save money, and there is no provision for transplantation. Hospital Director Rebecca Payne (played surprisingly well by Anne Heche) demands Mikey's transplant be treated as a cash account, demanding $75,000 down payment before Mike can even get on the donor list. (still think the donation process is not dollar driven?)

John tries to raise the money, but time is running out. In a desperate attempt to save his child, John takes heart surgeon Dr. Raymond Turner (James Woods) hostage, along with the emergency room staff, demanding that his son's name get on the list.

Hostage negotiator Lt. Frank Grimes (Robert Duvall) arrives on the scene, but is hampered by the presence of media-hungry Police Chief Gus Monroe (Ray Liotta). Also present is Tuck Lampley (Paul Johansson) a television reporter hungry for 'The Story' but who is sympathetic to John's plight.

The film is not action packed, but nonetheless has a palpable tension. It's a story of humanity, and the interactions between real people. It's a story about mistakes and redemptions, arrogance and assumptions, and the all too human core inside all of us.

The performances are spectacular. Denzel Washington, James Woods, Robert Duvall, Ray Liotta, Kimberly Elise, Paul Johansson, and (surprise) Anne Heche do phenomenally good jobs in their roles. The photography is excellent, the editing, script, and atmosphere are great, and the musical score matches mood with the film.

'John Q.' is one of those movies I can watch over and over again, and still feel the same emotion I felt the first time I watched it. Though the ending does have some unrealistic qualities, it fits well with the film and doesn't skip over the wrongs that John did to try and make things right for his son. Definitely a 'buy'. Enjoy!

John Q is an extremely intellectually dishonest movie that superficially presents only one side to a very complex issue. The entire movie is contrived to spread the message that we need socialized medicine. The problem is that they do not try to challenge your mind, making you think they might be on to something or pose any real facts that support their beliefs. No they simply preach to us "ignorant" folk, through a series of over the top exaggerations of healthcare woes, and pull at our heart so we feel bad for not accepting Hilarycare years ago. They even quote Bill Maher in that respect.

Everything is this movie is contrived and everyone except John Q is vapid and one dimensional. Doctors are greedy, poor are righteous and life is black and white with the haves and the have nots. Health care suffers because of greed by insurance companies, your job and medical staff, not because of consumers demanding so much as well. This movie is an infomercial for an agenda, with nothing from the opposing view whatsoever.

They push socialized medicine as a pancea, but do they show Canadians travelling to our country for better medical care? Do they talk about how countries with socialized systems often do not get the services they need nearby or at all as they are simply not available? What good is free healthcare if no one offers the service you need? Do they mention medical saving account,? quality of services or the impact on taxes and our economy? Non of these issues is even remotely touched upon.

This movie could have been so good, with such a great cast, if they had just been a more honest and real about the situation and less preachy. Denzel is great as always and I tried to empathize, but I also felt like a republican at the Wellstone memorial. This issues is very worthy of debating, but to encapsulate it into the simplistics this movie does is truly ridiculous. Rent this if you want validation that socialized medicine is the answer, but don't go looking here for any stimulating debates or ideas.

Director: Nick Cassavetes
Cast: Denzel Washington, Robert Duvall, James Woods, Kimberly Elise, Anne Heche, Ray Liotta, Ron Annabelle, Eddie Griffin, Daniel E. Smith, David Thronton, Shawn Hatosy.
Running Time: 116 minutes
Rated PG-13 for violence, language and intense thematic elements.

John Quincy Archibald (Denzel Washington) is a down-on-his-luck worker. He's about to be evicted from his home, he doesn't earn enough money, and is soon driven to the point of breaking. While at his son's (Mike) baseball game, the boy is overcome with convulsions andis rushed to a hospital, but his insurance coverage does not cover a heart transplant. He tries everything he can but can't get the money. He soon takes drastic measures as he takes twenty or so people hostage and takes over the ER at the hospital to get the transplant. Among the people is Dr. Raymond Turner (James Wood), a man who wishes John luck but can't give his son the transplant. Soon the situation turns into a police stand-off under the command of Lt. Frank Grimes (Robert Duvall) and Chief Gus Munroe (Ray Liotta). While Grimes wants John to surrender himself, Monroe is prepared to kill John just to end the crisis. As John waits for his son to be put on the donor list, he must take care of all the hurt hostages and keep the police from coming in. When John finds that he has the same blood-type and tissues as Mike, it become clear what he must do.

The audience are firmly on-side as Denzel's final, desperate plea to surgeon James Woods falls on deaf ears, and we understand why he believes the only option now open to him is to hijack the emergency room at Chicago Hope. However, the scenes in which Archibald takes over the hospital fall short of the drama the audience has been wound-up to expect. In some respects, this makes the development more realistic: Denzel doesn't suddenly become Bruce Willis and launch into a mass shoot 'em up; he is an ordinary, decent man, and his hijack is clumsy and somewhat botched: "John Q" is clearly out of his depth. The problem is that director Nick Cassavettes allows the film's momentum to dip irrecoverably during these scenes. There are some confusing moments while we wait for the authorities to work out what's going on and respond accordingly. This movie isn't like that: you know John isn't going to harm anybody, and moreover, you know his son is going to get a new heart. Worse still, you know, long before the climax of the film, how this is going to be achieved. For, although we've had time to forget about the opening sequence in which a young woman is involved in a car wreck, the same footage is repeated halfway through the story, leaving us in no doubt as to the identity of our donor. In it closing moments, "John Q" keeps its dignity, sending Archibald on a race against time to save his son or perhaps sacrifice himself. "John Q" never hits the dramatic high points we might have hoped for, nor does it tug convincingly on our heart strings, but it is at least a coherent and original movie, albeit one you're likely to forget as soon as you drop it back at the video store.

Do you have health insurance? If the answer is "Why no, Roman, I don't believe I do," then you really need to check out JOHN Q.

JOHN Q, a drama starring Denzel Washington as a father who takes matters into his own hands when his insurance won't foot the bill on a new heart for his dying son, has all the elements of a great drama except one - it tries desperately, but miserably fails to really keep you guessing.

Basic synopsis: Washington stars as John Q. Archibald, the kind of fellow who can't seem to get a break. However, his family life, while not full of monetary riches, is full of the heart-felt kind. And, when it comes to heart, no one surpasses his son, whose heart turns out to be three times too large. After young Mike Arhibald passes out on the baseball field (thunk!), doctors book him for a brief stay on the planet without a normal-sized heart, which his insurance won't pay for. The doctors and hospital administrators don't seem too sympathetic and old John Q just can't raise enough to money to fix the situation. So, in the dark of night, by the light of the full moon, he jumps the fence of a nearby pet cemetery and steals the heart of a pig in a desperate attempt to save his only son. O.k., that last part isn't true. I made it up. But, things do get nutty when John Q takes over the ER at gunpoint, demanding his son be placed at the top of the donor list.

The Cast: Denzel Washington (HURRICANE; GLORY) does an excellent job in any role he takes on. He can be an ex-slave soldier with no real heart, a boxer with all heart, or a daddy whose kid has too much heart. His part as John Q is no exception. He does a great job of looking flustered and scared yet determined throughout the crisis, like a real father would.
Robert Duvall (APOCOLYPSE NOW; FALLING DOWN) is no Samuel L. Jackson (THE NEGOTIATOR), but he still does a fantastic job as the "good cop/negotiator" in this crime caper. He's the police officer who does things for the "right reason."
Anne Heche (SIX DAYS SEVEN NIGHTS; RETURN TO PARADISE) is insensitive and cold. But, hospital administrators have to be. Do you have any idea how many sick people they see every day? Don't you think they might get just a little numb to tears? Still, you will hate her in a very healthy way.
James Woods (ANY GIVEN SUNDAY; THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER), once again, lives up to his name as one of the best supporting actors of all time. This guy knows exactly when to push his dramatic expertise over the edge. His "didn't you ever have a dream" speech in ANY GIVEN SUNDAY is a prime example. While you really don't get too much of that in John Q, he keeps the emotion flowing.
Kimberly Elise (BELOVED) grows on you as the momma, but she cries so dang much it makes me want to shoot myself.

My take on the film: While JOHN Q may not have been the most-shocking movie of late, it was everything I thought it would be, which can be both good and bad.
It had plenty of drama and great acting on the part of Washington. That was great.
It was full of unique camera angles, music that really clicked, and casting that can't be beat. Also a big plus.
However, all the health insurance ranting was not what I wanted to hear about. I wanted to see a drama where a daddy takes care of his boy and refuses to let the world and all its nonsensical rules stand in its way.
Also, there were parts of this movie that no one, not even a pawn shop owner, would buy. I don't want to give anything away, but I hope the cops and judicial system don't handle a real incident the way they do in JOHN Q.
Overall though, it was a fairly good film. It certainly wasn't GLORY or MALCOLM X caliber, but it was far from boring and kept me on the edge of my seat, even though I knew basically what was going to happen from start to finish. JOHN Q is definitely worth renting and almost certainly worth checking out in theaters, but don't expect anything Oscar caliber.

I watched the movie because of Denzel Washington and the long list of A-list actors and actresses. Denzel was simply brilliant as John Q and his portrayal was never in doubt but what dragged the movie down was its cliches right from the beginning to the very end. The ending was a huge disappointment. I guess that the ending was executed that way by gauging the reaction from the audience survey, and perhaps, there would be an alternative ending in the DVD version later. Other than Denzel, the rest of the crew was left with hardly any scrapes to develop their characters further. You can say that they came out to be two-dimensional when they have the capacity to achieve more. Worth watching but then again, you could watch ER instead. Trust me, you haven't missed much!