John QMovie Reviews

Gifts + Promos

The Vow Free Gift

Buy tickets & receive a FREE 3-Month Love Forecast from Astrology.com!

Fandango Bucks

Send your sweetheart the gift of movies this Valentine’s Day!

Journey Sweeps

Enter for a chance to win a trip for 2 to Nicaragua!

Interactive Oscar Ballot

Who's taking home the Oscar? Cast your vote & challenge your friends on Facebook!

Need Help?
No
Avg. Critic Score: 30 out of 100 Generally unfavorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
15 Iffy for 15+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 80
    Los Angeles Times | Kevin Thomas

    An all-stops-out rabble-rouser that hurls a broadside at America's medical insurance crisis. Read full review

  • 63
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    One can excuse the movie's missteps and melodramatic moments in the greater interest of the strong statement it makes about our health care system. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    More hokey than heartfelt. Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post | Michael O'Sullivan

    Gripping, if manipulative and somewhat preposterous, drama. Read full review

  • 50
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    The movie could have used a brain transplant. It doesn't explore injustice -- it just exploits it. Read full review

  • 38
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    The kind of movie Mad magazine prays for. It is so earnest, so overwrought and so wildly implausible that it begs to be parodied. Read full review

  • 20
    Washington Post | Stephen Hunter

    This movie, written in crayon by James Kearns, is too dumb to come up with a way of defeating the system by using its own rules. Read full review

  • 20
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    So lacking in shame that it finally seems laughable. Read full review

  • 20
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    A shamelessly manipulative commercial on behalf of national health insurance. Read full review

  • 10
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    John Q. is as fake as that tear, an exploitative mess trying to pass as social activism. Read full review

View more reviews for John Q on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 15+ Thought-provoking. Too intense for young teens.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this is an intense film that deals with themes of death and failures of the medical system. These might be a lot for some kids to handle, particularly since a young boy's life hangs in the balance for most of the film. Violence and foul language are sporadic, limited to short scenes or moments. Fighting, stabbing, gunshots, attempted murder, and attempted suicide are featured in the film.
  • Families can talk about John's actions. Are they justifiable? This film presents a perfect opportunity to talk about the status of the health care system in the United States. Is the current system fair? Should medical care be tied to ones ability to pay for it? Why or why not?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: A father resorts to criminal behavior in order to get medical attention for his dying son. Criminal behavior does have consequences.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Violence limited to short scenes or moments.
  • sex false0 Sex: Not an issue
  • language false3 Language: Some foul language.
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Some product placement.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false0 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Facebook Movie Fans

Fan Fandango on Facebook