48
Metascore
13 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanAt 73, Chomsky seems to understand everything about power and aggression -- except, that is, its centrality to human nature.
- 75New York Daily NewsJami BernardNew York Daily NewsJami BernardWith Chomsky as its star, this documentary cannot go far wrong, even though filmmaker John Junkerman intersperses Chomsky footage with some really bad Japanese pop music.
- 70The New York TimesDana StevensThe New York TimesDana StevensA searching and wide-ranging debate has unfolded about America's response to terrorism and, more broadly, about the history and future of its role in the world. Mr. Junkerman's film is best understood as a necessary, if partisan, text in that continuing argument.
- 60L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyPlays more like a disjointed radio show with pictures -- The power of Chomsky's intellect and message are poorly served when pigeonholed by the hagiography of some of his supporters.
- 60TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxAnyone unfamiliar with Chomsky's work may be unsettled by his unblinking critique of the U.S. policy at a time when patriotism is the order of the day, and while he fails to offer any real solutions, his conscientious perspectives on the questions remain invaluable.
- 60Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranChomsky deserves a more thoughtful documentary than Power and Terror, and in fact he got it in 1993's "Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media" --The film's main flaw is the absence of other voices -- From a cinematic point of view, two sides of an issue are always better than one.
- 50VarietyVarietyOffers a lively introduction to the highly articulate political dissident and to his controversial views on 9/11.
- 50New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickMichael Moore makes many of the same points, with far more impact, in "Bowling for Columbine."
- 40Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonVillage VoiceMichael AtkinsonBumrushed onto American screens like late-breaking news, the Japanese TV doc Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Times is a relatively thin slice of Chomskiana -- a chapter from any of the man's many interview volumes, or even an hour of his C-SPAN dialogues, has more political substance.
- 40The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinDoesn't aspire to do much more than disseminate Chomsky's ideas. On that level, it's a success, but on every other level, it's downright snooze-inducing.