Fahrenheit 9/11 2004

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: Instead of the incendiary expose we were promised, Fahrenheit 9/11 is more like a Bic lighter that has been fired up at one too many rock concerts. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Fahrenheit 9/11 isn't a cogent, revelatory expose, but a dizzying compendium of facts and opinions, wrapped up in a heartfelt, passionate, surprisingly moving package. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: The most focused work of the director's career. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: Moore's ability to kick off a debate -- even a vicious one -- remains priceless, as do his gifts for ridicule, for wringing laughs, shock and tears from his subjects and for shedding a spotlight on ordinary Americans. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Michael Moore's best film. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: ... a powerful piece of filmmaking by Michael Moore. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The statistics, the footage, the accumulation of facts are staggering -- or, at the very least, fascinating. Read more

Bill Muller, Arizona Republic: Not a film to be ignored. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Should be seen because it takes off the gloves and wades into the fray, because it synthesizes the anti-Bush argument like no other work before it, and because it forces you to decide for yourself exactly where passion starts to warp point of view. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Moore makes a persuasive and unrelenting case that there is another way to look at things beyond the version we've been given. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: Little of this information is new, but Moore packages what's already known about George W. Bush and his presidency into a piece of rhetoric so persuasive that the Bush reelection campaign could spend the next five months trying to refute it. Read more

Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle: One every American should see. Read more

Paul Clinton (CNN.com), CNN.com: It's an accomplished documentary with an extremely powerful message. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: At its best, the film is also a powerful, furious, loving -- and, at times, manipulative -- treatise on family values. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Potent and infuriating. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: As an exercise in filmmaking, this picture bears a curious resemblance to the very debacle under review. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: Love it or hate it, Fahrenheit is unprecedented in its relentless and up-to-the- minute attack on a sitting president. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: A roaring, and for the most part richly deserved, hatchet job on the Bush presidency. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: A passionate, clearly articulated, if sloppily structured indictment of the president, his ties to the bin Laden family, his relentless push for war in Iraq and, as portrayed by Moore, an ineptitude bordering on the criminal. Read more

Peter Rainer, New York Magazine/Vulture: This is the most comprehensive diatribe ever filmed against Bush and his cronies (even though, by necessity, it is focused primarily on Iraq). Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: When Moore is willing to forget his personal animosity for a moment, his film regains its amazing power. Read more

Jami Bernard, New York Daily News: The information here isn't necessarily new, but it is packaged in an acid-tongued way along with powerhouse visuals that drive home the filmmaker's nakedly political views. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Undeniably galvanizing, immensely watchable and damned good filmmaking. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: It is worth seeing, debating and thinking about, regardless of your political allegiances. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: I urge all my readers to see the film and judge it for yourselves. It is, at the very least, one of the most thought-provoking releases of the year. Read more

Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel: A seductive blend of satire, editorializing and, sometimes, propaganda. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: It's not compelling; in fact, there are times when it's not especially interesting. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The film doesn't go for satirical humor the way Moore's Roger & Me and Bowling for Columbine did. Moore's narration is still often sarcastic, but frequently he lets his footage speak for itself. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: An enormous film, an angry film, a flawed film and often a very, very funny film. Read more

David Edelstein, Slate: Fahrenheit 9/11 is not a documentary for the ages, it is an act of counterpropaganda that has a boorish, bullying force. It is, all in all, a legitimate abuse of power. Read more

Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Moore states his argument forcefully and effectively, alternating cold, factual data with emotionally wrenching -- and draining -- human episodes. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star: Unlike Bowling For Columbine, which editorially often seemed something less than the sum of its sketch-comedy parts, Fahrenheit 9/11 makes its case carefully and clearly. Read more

Mary Corliss, TIME Magazine: A brisk and entertaining indictment of the Bush Administration's middle East policies before and after September 11, 2001. Read more

Time Out: Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: The documentary's scathing attack on the war in Iraq and George W. Bush's presidency is informative, provocative, frightening, compelling, funny, manipulative and, most of all, entertaining. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: The sporadically effective docu trades far more in emotional appeals than in systematically building an evidence-filled case against the president and his circle. Read more

J. Hoberman, Village Voice: If Moore is formidable, it's not because he is a great filmmaker (far from it), but because he infuses his sense of ridicule with the fury of moral indignation. Fahrenheit 9/11 is strongest when that wrath is vented on Bush and his cohorts. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: The best thing about Fahrenheit 9/11 is that viewers can disagree with the filmmaker's own assessment that the war was fought for money and power but still emerge with some healthy questions of their own. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: What's remarkable here isn't Moore's political animosity or ticklish wit. It's the well-argued, heartfelt power of his persuasion. Read more