Wampyrii doesn't live here any more. Play nice y'all. :)
Wampyrii doesn't live here any more. Play nice y'all. :)
Member since:15.09.2000
Reviews:772
Members who trust:111
For a movie this contrived, this poorly plotted and this embarrassingly scripted it is obvious that it must have struck some kind of chord with those otherwise more discerning names involved. Director Nick Cassavetes has a daughter awaiting transplant of course so his motivation is obvious, but for the likes of Denzyl Washington, Robert Duval, Ray Liotta and James Woods amongst others to become involved it must surely have only been because they agreed with the movie's laudable intentions because in all other respects it is incredibly poor.
Of course, this movie DOES have all the best intentions. It's a sad fact that one of the richest countries in the world does not provide free medical care to it's population, that money comes first over human life and that insurance companies regularly screw over their policy holders to save a few bucks whilst turning a blind eye to human misery and suffering. "Medical Coverage" is a term which is rarely spoken of in any kind of positive light and rightfully so and Cassavetes' movie seeks to highlight just how damn inhumane the whole system is...noble intentions indeed, but it's shame that this movie offers nothing but it's message and be damned with everything else.
Your premise is this. John Archibald's (aka John Q - Denzyl Washington) son is diagnosed with a heart defect which makes it three times normal size...he'll die unless he has a transplant which is going to cost $250,000 as a minimum, with a $75,000 down payment. John works, has insurance, but it's worthless as his company has 'downgraded' him to a lower level which doesn't cover it. No one else will help either, there are no safety nets and despite fund-raising earning over $20,000 in a few weeks those who hold the purse strings refuse to give any leeway. John snaps, storms the hospital and takes hostages, vowing to kill them unless his son is put on the organ donor register straight away...
The single more unsatisfying thing about John Q is that it is so divorced from reality that it's impossible to take seriously. We are meant to believe that one man, who has no military training etc. can take over a hospital wing and hold it without any kind of resistance from the amassed police and military outside. We are then supposed to believe that these police are so dense that a media station is able to tap into their internal video feed and broadcast pictures from inside the hospital. Then we are meant to believe that all these hostages are going to think that he's the bee's knees, as will the entire US population who will amass outside the hospital flag waving and cheering...cheering on a man who is threatening to shoot innocent people...and so on...there's whole catalogue of ludicrous rubbish like this, but to say more would be to spoil the movie for those still interested.
The consistently preachy tone is too much to bear, we know this is a message movie, but there is no need for the number of soapbox speeches that this movie has. The script is absolutely horrible in this respect, either plain dumb or delivering long heartfelt speeches which are quite cringeworthy that it's almost like you are watching a parody of the movie it is trying to be! There isn't the slightest bit of subtlety, the message we got the first ten times around being driven home time and again by sledgehammer speeches and supposed poignant moments which wouldn't have looked out of place in a public information broadcast. Too in your face as well is the soundtrack which either features loud mournful piano or 'cry here' classical strings and features one abysmal and totally misplaced ballad which meant that once again, I started thinking of parodies.
There is no way this is meant to be one by the way.
In it's favour, the cast do a good job with the appalling script and chameleon characters they have been assigned, Washington in particular turning in an excellent performance but ultimately it's all highly unfulfilling. It's virtually impossible to take seriously a depiction of a hospital administrator (she who holds the purse strings) as being so heartless and cold that she'd make the Grim Reaper cower in fear, nor Liotta's sheriff who's uniform is so decorated with stars (to ram home his rank to all us dummies watching) that he'd not look out of place at a glam rock concert, nor all the other over-cooked characterisations either. That all the actors came out of this with reputation unscathed is a credit to their abilities and nothing else.
When you add to this some sub-plots which go nowhere, a scene which wouldn't have looked out of place if John Claude Van Damne was involved (highly out of place in the middle of a drama of course), a few enormous cop outs and the bizarre fact that the movie forgets to end(you'll know if you watch it)then it's difficult to recommend on any level.
The bottom line is simple. Unless you are the kind of person who will cry at the drop of a handkerchief and are more easily manipulated than a government backbencher catching sight of a bulging brown envelope, then you are just going to find John Q's preachiness and heavy handed, join the dots storytelling to be nothing more than painful to watch. In the end I saw it in two parts, I couldn't sit through the movie all in one go because of the number of eye-rollingly bad, cringeworthy speeches and plot developments and that ought to speak volumes. The message is very noble and I hope to God America does something to provide safety nets for the people personified here by 'John Q' but movies like this aren't going to change the world and they aren't going to provide much in the way of entertainment either.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Drama - Director: Kevin Smith - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, George Carlin, Jennifer Lopez, Jason Biggs, Matt Damon
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 2002 - Drama - Director: Michael Caton-Jones - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand, James Franco, Eliza Dushku, William Forsythe, George Dzundza, Patti Lupone
A nine-year-old boy is in desperate need of a life-saving transplant. When his father ... more
John Q. Archibald (Denzel Washington) discovers that his medical insurance won’t cover the costs of the surgery and alternative government aid is unavailable ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
John Q. (Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington) is an ordinary man who works at a factory ... more
and takes care of his family. His wife Denise and young son Michael are his world. But when Michael falls seriously ill and needs an emergency heart transplant t...
Advantages: Denzel Washington is his usual brilliant self. Thought provoking, and exciting, movie, about a highly contentious and controversial topic. Disadvantages: Not a lot
the_mad_cabbie 28.12.2002 (28.12.2002)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of John Q. (DVD)
![John Q. [DVD] [2002]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78530786.jpg "John Q. [DVD] [2002]")
Sep 7th, 2002
very helpful by (100%):
