Rating: 
Summary: Good drama
Review: Oscar Winner Denzel Washington stars as a normal father who must challenge to save the life of his only son.After his son collapses on a softball game is taken to a hospital where the doctors found a cardiac issue that must be transplanted to save his life. Due to the highly costy transplant operation John Q must deal with his work sanitary insurance to help him to pay all the costs.He then knows that his insurance is limited and has no cover for transplants.After to seek insurance on other companies and after getting the money necessary for the op the hospital decides to send his son home without transplanting. The hospital administration director doesn't allow to operate somebody without medical insurance. This situation forces John Q to held the cardiac surgeon of the hospital and some patients hostage until the hospital includes his son on the donors list for a heart transplant. The police and media take positions on the outside and in the inside events take place. After a long situation Chicago Police chief dedice to take action and sends one on his Swat members into the building to eliminate John Q with the opossition of the Police negociator that aks to speak with him. When the sniper shots and injures John Q he take him ouside and changes his son for him.Finally the police agrees and his son is taken back to the hospital. When the surgeon explores his son he determines that if he doesn't recieve a heart soon he'll die. Determined to save his son's life John Q offers his heart to transplant to his son he must die to solve the issue. But luckily a young beautiful lady dies on a car crash and dons all his organs which heart is compatible with John's son. After the op that was a sucess comes the trial to John Q who is charged by the kidnapping of hostages on the hospital. A good finale. The only flow is the ausence of english subtitles necessary for non US customers like me.
Rating: 
Summary: Let's All Go to Canada!
Review: First, let's address the most glaring omission... It's ILLEGAL for an insurance company to change coverage on a patient without first notifying that patient. With this in mind, there are at least two scenarios.... 1) Mr. Archibald realizes this and threatens to file a lawsuit. IN THE REAL WORLD, this would most likely result in an extremely rapid settlement resulting in full coverage for the kid's transplant.
OR
2) It was clearly stated in Archibald's policy that he would be demoted to Tier Two coverage when he dropped under a specified work load. Now, obviously, John was aware that he was no longer working 40 hours a week. If he was familiar with his policy (ie. took the time to read it), he should have understood his position before the crisis which forms the basis of this movie. That said, this joke of a movie ignores reality and trades it for almost two hours of shameless, sickening propaganda. Wealthy heart recipients are portrayed as uncaring morons while John Q, the totally irresponsible center of the story, is suddenly worshipped by the trampled masses for "taking the law into his own hands". Also, any authority figure (police, hospital administrator, etc.)is represented as a heartless ogre. Give me a break! The whole premise of the pathetic excuse for a movie is that EVERYBODY is entitled to free or reduced healthcare. Never mind that "John Q" by all rights should have known beforehand that his son's transplant would not be covered. Only noted TV pinhead Bill Mahr makes the point towards the end of the movie that government health care would come from OUR POCKETS. Before anybody starts to accuse me of hating this movie because I disagree with it, I want to point out that I love MASH (movie and series), Bruce Springsteen, and many other entertainment media which I disagree with ideologically. I watch movies and listen to music to be entertained. The reason John Q fails so miserably is its heavy-handed and unrealistic approach. It also plays the movie-seeing public as a bunch of unthinking chumps (which may unfortunately be true after reading some of the previous reviews). Canada has universal health care, but how many Canadians do you hear bragging about it? How many Canadians end up moving to America to escape the Candadian health care system. Look it up, you may be surprised. Finally
Rating:
Summary: The DNC wrote the plot, Good Fiction!
Review: This piece must be up for a award from the DNC. This movie has it all, Gun owner Hate, Rich people Bashing, Corporate America Hate, HMO Hate, Trust the Government to take care of you, and of course the Police are bad rant. This movie was a masterpiece the Third Reich would have been proud of. The quality acting of Denzel Washington and Robert Duvall could not save this movie. The final insult to Injury was the ... news clips of the Socialist Bill Maher, Jesse Jackson and Hillary Clinton Spewing the Party line Health care Drivel. I give this movie a P.U. Propaganda Unentertaining!
Rating: 
Summary: What a Let Down after Washington's "Training Day"
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Capitalism has its flaws when it comes to healthcare.
Review: This was a well-acted and riveting movie that also delved into the dilemma MANY Americans face with being uninsured or underinsured, who can't get the critical healthcare they need oftentimes. Healthcare is a need, not a want. This movie shows how the profit motive gets in the way, whether you are a hospital or an insurance company whose bottom line takes precedence over people.
Rating: 
Summary: Parents, prepare to think... a lot
Review: As an American with a newborn, this movie certainly struck a nerve. I found myself wondering hours later how well I am prepared for the financial burdens I may face should such a terrible health tragedy strike my family. The film itself may not have had such an impact were I single. It is a good drama, and certainly worth watching. There are moments when it is overly corny; and the social commentary it tries to bring across is strained at times. But the star cast performance helped keep my interest alive throughout. The value of this film is not in its entertaining qualities alone; but in the fact that it makes parents think and, hopefully, act in their communities to improve the imbalance in the social net. God bless America; but God forgive its lawmakers too.
Rating:
Summary: Review On John Q.
Review: Bottom line this is a beautiful movie about a fathers love for his son. Love in general for someone you love. Love that is so strong that he will jeopordize his own life and freedom just to save his son. You know what! I would like to see what you would do if you were in this position! The movie is also a metaphor for other things which any intelligent person could figure out. So stop with your whining about it not being believable enough or that your hospital would do the procedure in real life. It's a movie for Gods Sake! And jeez, I feel you on the sterotypes but that stuff is everywhere you better get use to it or find another world to live in. Love is powerful and it will make us do beautiful things and things that others may judge as wrong but whatever way you come to judge certain peoples actions, nothing wrong has ever been done out of love...true love...not this is for your own good ...love...or this will benifit me love...etc. But true love! And one last thing, Denzel Washington is the greatest actor of all time!
Rating:
Summary: Good Movie, but lets not forget
Review: After reading the reviews for the movie John Q, i decided to watch it for myself. It is a good drama, about family values, and going all the way. Yes there are cheap shots, yes we have seen similar themes before, but lets be honest people. 1000's of movies have been made, every angle explored, in this day and age, your not going to get a completely original movie. So i don't look for that. I look for the enjoyment factor. Did i like watching it? Yes... have I learned any important lessons? c'mon it's not a disney film, so no. but i had a good time watching it, and even laughed at some points. Watch the movie, it's good. The one problem i had, was that it was a very lopsided movie... the HMO and hospital is made to look the bad guy here, but i think it was larry King that said in the end, the problem is ourselfs, look in the mirror for the answer to this one... You get what you pay for, and we as americans don't want to pay, simple as that. does healthcare need work? yes. Does this movie provide moral grounding to wage a war? No, it's a movie. Watch it, enjoy it... leave it at that. I feel sorry for those who seem to have forgotten what movie magic is about.
Rating:
Summary: Worth some watches.
Review: Grab a tissue box and get ready to cry. This movie is very sad. John Q.'s son has a heart attack during a baseball game. Now his father has too run to the hospital. The hospital says his son is going to die and they can't help him. But John does not give up. Instead, he takes the hospital under hostage. Now some of the docters are trapped inside the hospital. The docters decide that there going to help his son... Denzel is at his best in this movie. The movie has a weird ending. So go grab the tissues and cry away. I cried myself. So, go and watch it. Think before letting kids see this though. Running Time: 118 Minutes Rating: PG-13 for Language, Violence and Some Thematic Elements
Rating:
Summary: Silly, Contrived, Shamless
Review: This film has an all-star cast and some pretty great acting but all that's entombed in a generically scripted, contrived and shamelessly partisan ... piece. Start with the stereotypical working-class family (Washington, Elise) whose loving patriarch must look for extra work because his company is hiring ... Mexican labor no doubt due to NAFTA. From all appearances, this family is a modern-day "Ozzie and Harriett", only a little more edgy and a lot more sappy. Their son is stricken ill with inoperable heart condition for which he must have a transplant (couldn't see that coming). And the insurance company won't pay (couldn't see that coming either). In come the stereotypical heartless automatons that are hospital administrators (Heche, Woods) who sit around a table looking painfully bored as the tearful couple is told that they don't have the insurance coverage for their son's surgery. During all this time the hospital is made to look more like an executive boardroom than any hospital I've ever seen. We learn later that Heche's Tin Man actually gets a heart, but alas, not soon enough for the countless children she's doubtlessly condemned to death for lack of funds. Ah, and let us not forget the stereotypical news anchorman who uses the tragedy for the benefit of his career (well, maybe some stereotypes are truer than others). As if we couldn't see any of that coming, things suddenly get really silly when one man takes a whole emergency room hostage and the stereotypes and cliches abound. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the stereotypical police chief trying to sweep the incident under the rug because it's an election year. And who can forget Duval as the token cop-with-a-heart. Everything about this movie is contrived and completely unrealistic. This may not be such a flaw for a movie but this particular movie is treating what it's makers view as a very real problem. And the movie's sanctimonious tone leads this viewer to believe they are trying to teach us something by it. Washington is no doubt a top-notch actor and a credit to his craft. He carries what would otherwise be a waste of film and makes it somewhat believable (a little like Snow White is believable). In fact, it seems to be little more than a fairy tale. If you're simply interested in the entertainment value and have the ability to turn off any rational thought for two hours then you will probably enjoy this film. Otherwise, there are a host of other far more worthy Washington flicks that you can choose from.
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