Rating: 
Summary: Hollywood Trash
Review: I felt the need to write this review after suffering through this movie. Denzel Washington is a great actor which is probably the only reason I didn't turn this movie off after 45 minutes. And the other reviews cover what needs to be said. However, I felt compelled as a surgeon to inform anyone who has watched this movie that in this situation there is no way this child would be denied a heart transplant. It was ridiculous melodrama. Our health care system is not perfect but please don't insult the intelligence of the American people.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Movie........Just a bit far fetched!!
Review: John Q is a movie, which surely enligtens the famous saying " With Money you are everything, and without it, you are nothing". However, I truly empathise with John Q, his wife and most important of all, his son, but due his poor economic status, John Q frankly has no right what so ever to take control of a hospital. But I once again stress on the fact that he was pushed to the limit. This movie sure does convey to us that Hospital's in the U.S and around the world are more interested in Medical Coverage rather than the operation itself.(My opinion only. Not neccessarily agreed by others).
Rating:
Summary: I Didn't Know What to Expect ....
Review: I wasn't sure I would like this film when I saw the previews. But after forcing myself to watch a few minutes, I couldn't stop. Denzell Washington gave yet another brilliant performance and showed why he should have won an Oscar years ago.
The story is well known, and I'm sure a few things were added to make it more exciting of a movie. But it is still a great film worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: The Plight Of The Working Poor
Review: This movie is chock full of big stars and proposed big messages. While it does fail to address the messages it brings up on health care, it presents the plight of the working poor in our nation very well. When John Q. Archibald's (Denzel Washington) son gets sick he finds out that everything is not as he thinks. He questions and questions and questions and finds out that his company has changed his health care plan without his knowledge. He looks for help anywhere he can get it and finds out that he would be better off on welfare (a sad statement for sure). This movie shows both the good and the bad in our country. The ordinary folks trying to help each other and the corporations and big busniess that are driven by the bottom line - money and profit. But through all this, how much can a man take? Our star, John Q (Denzel Washington) is pushed and pushed for an answer he can't get anywhere. He feels pushed into a corner and finally he pushes back. Denzel Washington, once again, turns in a fine performance. He is very believable as "the average Joe" and reacts in ways that many working folks have thought of time and time again. There are many other characters in this story that are portrayed very well. The careeer driven, do anything to get ahead type is done well by Ray Liotta. The career man who has seen it all and knows the right and wrong moves is done well by Robert Duvall. Anne Heche plays an excellent "bottom-liner" as a profit driven, hard core administrator. James Woods plays the expert doctor who has compassion but has let the size of his career influence his perception of the world. And some great small parts by supporting actors playing a variety of "types". Overall, a very good and enjoyable movie, even it was a bit predictable. Although, as many seemed to have noticed, this movie does not address our failed health care system adequately, it is a good movie to open the door and bring peoples attention to it. And in the end, it is what it is, a good movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Thank you for making this film
Review: My family has endured not only the painful experience of slowly losing someone to a progressive, terminal illness but also has endured the unbelievable experience of being dumped by insurance companies, being deemd "ineligible" for disability benefits from the government, and constant reductions in medicaid- even as our family member's condition worsens and actually requires more care. Are we such a heartless nation that our health care providers and insurance providers value profit more than life or quality of life for those who are unfortunate enough to contract lengthy, painful diseases? Shouldn't health care be available to all and not only to the very rich? I want to thank the makers of this film, and the famous actors who participated in its creation for helping to bring people to see the film and increase awareness of the desparate state that many americans unfortunately find themselves in. Thanks for reading. There are many more reviews that give greater detail around the film. I just wanted to let people know that apart from the drama in the movie, the painful issue in the story is all too real.
Rating: 
Summary: good acting/poor writing
Review: Denzel Washington does a great job, Daniel E Smith plays his part very well. They are what pulls the movie UP to 3 stars. The writer of this movie over-dramatizes problems with the healthcare industry in the US. The hospital director is this tough woman who couldn't care less about patients. Doctors and rich people are made out to be evil. Then you throw in the young police chief who tries to be smarter than the older cop. I felt like someone took what could have been a good story and made sure to add in as many politically correct, socialist storylines as possible. Where's Senator McCarthy when we need him?
Rating:
Summary: i'm sorry your insurance doesn't cover this
Review: Man. I just saw John Q. a few days ago and it was Oscar quailty. This is a tale of a despreate father who's health insurance will not cover his son's treatment. Then he talked to his insurer and said he was covered but they swictched to regular basis to an H.M.O. Yada yada. Then he had no more options but to demand them,(the hospital)to put their son's name on the donor list. With a gun.(Personily I would have done that with a sawed-off shotgun, but those are illeagle). Well this is not a family oriented film, but it does have a strong message. This movie has some humor and some teary bleary-eyed moments. The only complait is that the woman in the car chrash did kinda give away the ending. But the ending off the movie isn't exactly uplifting, unlike the fluffy-bunney endings people really see. I reccomend this to well anyone. I hope there will be more interesting movies like this. I would have done the same thing as Mr. Q did.
Rating: 
Summary: This should have been a great movie
Review: This should have been a great movie, but at best it a B movie.
The portrayals of the Archibald family by Denzel Washington, Kinberly Elise and Daniel E. Smith are ok, but then as the movie progresses the support cast is simply awful. How can the likes of Anne Heche, James Woods, and Robert Duvall ruin a movie with bad acting? I don't know but it happened here. With a cast like this this film could have been gold, with a subject like this this movie could have had a social impact. But it's trash.
This is probably the first movie I have seen Denzel in that was this bad. He does his best to save the film but the rest of the acting, editing, and directing is so bad, even a star like Denzel can't help what could have a been brilliant film and social statement.
Rating:
Summary: A noble attempt to say something important about health care
Review: There were real tears running down my face during some of the emotional scenes in this film about a factory worker whose insurance won't cover his son's needed surgery, causing him to take matters into his own hands. The story was well paced and there was fine acting throughout by the star studded cast which included Robert Duvall as a police hostage negotiator, James woods as the cardiologist, Anne Heche as the unfeeling hospital administrator, Ray Liotta as the police captain going after glory, and newcomer Kimberly Elise, cast as the wife in a demanding role that showed her fine skill as an actress. Denzel Washington, of course, was terrific and I am constantly impressed by the wide variety of roles he can play with such skill. I sat in the audience intrigued by it all, rooting for the life of the young boy, and deploring the state of medical care. However, there are just too many things wrong with the film for me to give it more than a lukewarm recommendation. Basically, it was implausible all the way. Even at the moments of the most tension, I realized this. And without giving the conclusion away, I must say that there was one essential detail left out that just plain cheated the audience. Some of the scenes were straight out of soap opera heaven, just a little too emotional to be real. And, in between, there were too many speeches about health care, as if the audience didn't get the point and had to be told over and over again. You might want to catch this film on video or DVD, but it just doesn't play well on the big screen. True, it's about time that a movie brought the health care message to the public. The writers of this film meant well. It just wasn't good enough. Too bad.
Rating:
Summary: sizzle but no steak
Review: I watched the movie because of Denzel Washington and the long list of A-list actors and actresses. Denzel was simply brilliant as John Q and his portrayal was never in doubt but what dragged the movie down was its cliches right from the beginning to the very end. The ending was a huge disappointment. I guess that the ending was executed that way by gauging the reaction from the audience survey, and perhaps, there would be an alternative ending in the DVD version later. Other than Denzel, the rest of the crew was left with hardly any scrapes to develop their characters further. You can say that they came out to be two-dimensional when they have the capacity to achieve more. Worth watching but then again, you could watch ER instead. Trust me, you haven't missed much!
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