Rating: 
Summary: Tear Jerker!!
Review: I think that John Q was a very good movie. Yes it was fille with a lot of cliches but thats ok. Denzel Washington did a very good job acting, you can see how he really got into his role. You can also see the emotion. He is unbelieveable. When he tells his son good bye you can actually see denzel's tears and see the emotion pain on his face. I just couldn't believe how well he did. I think that they picked the perfect little boy too. It makes you think about love. Do you really love someone enogh to want to give your life so they could live? Just like to warn you, you will probably cry, even the guys.
Rating: 
Summary: Denzel delivers
Review: Denzel holds up a hospital because doctors(James Woods and Anne Heche) wont operate on his son who is dying. Denzel is sparking as the father. Ray Liotta, Robert DuVall, Kimberley Elise, Eddie Griffin and Shawn Hatosy add to the great cast
Rating:
Summary: Daddy Said, "Without You, There Is No World."
Review: "John Q" is surely too melodramatic even though it treats one of the most important social issues, namely, current medical insurance system in USA. The characters, save for the main one, need lots of polishing, and the over-the-top finale is too good to be true. But the film is still a great audience pleaser -- if you are a kind of audience who can ignore the holes in the plot -- and it is certain that Denzel Washington acquired new fans after the release of the film.John Quincey Archibols is a family man, working at a local factory where his hours are cut, and whose car is repossessed. Still, he is a loving father, whose son Michael, however, collapses during the baseball game, and is brought to hospital. John Q is told by the hospital executives James Woods and Anne Heche that he has to prepare $ 250,000 to have an operation for heart transplanting for his son. Without that, Michael is certain to die within months. But the insurance, for the reasons you should see for yourself on screen, does not give any more than $ 20,000 ceiling. The time limit for payment gets closer, and the hospital even suggests that his son leave the place when John and his friends are desperately collecting the money, which is far short of the amount they need. Told over phone by his wife "to do something," John takes a literal course to do something -- to take over the hospital with a gun, taking hostages and requiring that his son's name should be put on the top of the waiting list. You might find the story ethically dubious (and I did, too) but soon find that Washington's performance as distraught father compels you to (almost) forget that point. The story is oversimplified and melodramatic, but it successfully conveys the father's feelings towards his son, and as such it manages to engage us. The good pace of the film also makes you forgive the fact that the script is too contrived (though I don't say impossible), and that there are some stock characters such as veteran hostage negotiator and power-hungry police representive, played by Rovert Duvall and Ray Liotta respectively. The original script was written in 1993 when "Die Hard" style action flicks are in vogue, and the finished script of "John Q" clearly shows that fact. There are satire about media circus, conversations over radio, etc., but director Nick Cassavetes keeps good pace with stirring direction and some occassional references to modern US insurance systems. Though the film seems to touch these social issues too casually, it is still worthwhile to know these things, some of which are simply surprising for, like me, those who are not living in America. You may think that Nick Cassavetes, now both as actor ("Face/Off") and as director ("Unhook the Stars" which incidentally features his mother Gena "Gloria Rowlands") is not the right choice for the film. The fact is, however, he did a good job, helped greatly by Washington's towering presence. But you cannot and hsould not seek for profound insights or messages here. It is nothing but a crowd pleaser -- and a good one at that, but we know the subject matter needs more subtle handling.
Rating: 
Summary: Goes for the easy cliche almost every time
Review: I delayed watching this movie from the simple fact that the previews gave me the impression that this was a "squashed squirrel." There are two ways to elicit emotion: 1) provide a cliche device, such as a squashed squirrel (who won't go "awwww" when seeing a small animal hurt?), or 2) earn your audience emotions by providing them with honest writing and believable situations. Unfortunately, John Q goes for the easy cliche almost every time. Denzel Washington is an excellent actor and try as he might, he simply can't escape from the script. At every turn he's handed another maudlin easy out. And that's really a shame because the topic addresses some fairly tough questions. There was real opportunity to provide a rich story filled with interesting dialog regarding the U.S healthcare system. Instead we're presented with stereotypes of the "rich doctor," the "mean hospital administrator" and the "gung ho cop." Been there, done that and I didn't care to see it the first time. Major talent is wasted as well. Robert Duvall's character, Lt. Frank Grimes, doesn't have enough material to even be effective as cast member. At the end of the movie, I was left wondering why we even needed his character - he had no arc and provided no real insight to the drama. Duvall is a fantastic character actor and he's given nothing to work with. The rest of the cast is mostly a mixed bag of good and bad. All Kimberly Elise can do is play anger as Denise Archibald, John's wife. Her performance was disappointing since her character had the most to work with. James Woods and Anne Heche can likewise do little in their roles than play the stereotypes that they've been given. However Eddie Griffin did standout as one of the more honest characters as Lester Matthews, one of the hostages. Granted, his role didn't require much of a stretch, but it was a breath of fresh air and one of the few redeeming elements of the movie. The bottom line is that James Kearns, the writer and co-producer, simply provided nothing but a sow's ear to the cast and no amount of magic was going to turn it into a silk purse. Kearns' work may have been appropriate for "Jake and the Fatman", or "Highway to Heaven", (he wrote for both TV series), but it simply wasn't up to snuff for the cadre of talent on the playbill.
Rating:
Summary: Denzel Washington's performance redeems this melodrama
Review: I hate to think what "John Q." would have been like if Denzel Washington was not playing the title character. The story is essential a melodrama. Washington plays John Q. Archibald, and when his young son (Daniel E. Smith) needs a heart transplant he and his wife (Kimberly Elise ) discover that the system seems to be going out of its way to make sure that the kid does not get it. When the hospital is about to throw the kid out on the street, John's wife tells him to do something about it and he does, walking into the hospital with a gun and taking the heart surgeon (James Woods) and the Emergency Room hostage. From that point most of what you would expect to see happen in this film is what happens. There is a veteran cop (Robert Duvall) who is in charge o the situation but has the chief (Ray Liotta) hovering over his shoulder, while the chief sets a record for number of stars worn on a uniform. Just from that casting alone you should be able to tell which one is the "good cop." This 2002 film is competently made by Nick Cassavetes, but for some reason I kept thinking of the late Gene Siskel's contempt for films that put children in danger as a way of provoking an emotional response from the audience. Intertwined with the drama is an ongoing diatribe against HMOs, which is actually rather tame when you consider how vilified those groups have been in recent years. The redeeming feature of the film remains Washington's performance, exemplified by the scene in which he has what he may well be the final conversation he ever has with his son. Most of the other fine actors in this cast have moments where they clearly transcend the material as well. The DVD version of "John Q." comes courtesy of Infinifilm, which means that as you go thorough the film you will not only have the opportunity to see deleted and extended scenes, but an ongoing series of talking heads explaining and bemoaning the health care crisis in this country. When Clinton was elected in 1992 his big issue was health care reform and the great irony is that while apparently everybody in the United States agrees that reform of the health care system is necessary, the only thing most people could agree on is that what anybody else wanted to do was wrong. So, while everybody agreed something needed to be done, nothing was done, and nobody wonders why faith in the government is virtually nonexistent. Anyhow, the "real world" information about the problem with transplants in this country we get from the Infinifilm extras only underscores the melodramatic nature of the film. "John Q." opens a giant can of worms, because while it clearly indicts the system it really does not offer a solution beyond changing the ways things are done. The state of Oregon provides health care for its citizens but rations it: should a government that meets basic health care needs for all of its citizens but draws the line at providing expensive transplant operations deserve to be castigated when it meets many of the needs of all instead of all of the needs of a few? The film is, of course, necessarily silent on such questions, but those are what we face in the real world. In the end, "John Q." remind me of the old joke about the football coach who gets the team all fired up to go out there and win one for the Gipper and as the team heads out for the field they find out the door is locked.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad, but not great
Review: John Q. is a pretty good Denzel drama. It's not action packed, and short on explosions, but still is highly entertaining. Denzel plays a father who has a sick son. In fact, his son is staring death in the face, and his only hope is to be placed at the top of the donor list. Denzel's character is a very blue collar worker who lives in a shack and has little money. His medical insurance is lacking, as well. He is driven to the edge, and does what any good father would.. he fights for his child, and lays his life on the line. Not a bad flick.
Rating:
Summary: Adorable
Review: When I found out Denzel Washington starred in this movie, I knew I just had to see it as he is by far my favorite actor. A touching but funny movie about a man who has a kid with a heart growing larger than it should. During a baseball game, his kid collapses and they quickly take him to hospital. Little does John. Q know what lies ahead when they take his kid to the hospital. First off they would have to pay $10,000 for his son to get an operation and what makes matters worse is that they don't have the kind of money nor do they have insurance so really they're lying the lane of death for their son. The first half of the movie is so powerful and emotional as matters gets saddening. It really would be the pits to have your son dying and you don't have the money to get him or her to get the only chance to save him or her. But the most unexpected thing comes to place after the movie moves on. John. Q decides to hold the hospital and the people in it hostage until he gets what he wants -- the operation for his kids. For hours and hours, police try to figure a way to get into the hospital and surround him but John. Q always has something for them. As time goes by, the hostages begin to know John. Q a little better and soon begin to like him. It becomes funny when John. Q lets a woman out and she gets interviewed by a reporter. She tells the reporter that John. Q is a nice guy and wished she was back in there as a hostage! In the end, you'll find out that John. Q is about to give up his life for his son's but is luckily saved by his wife when the people decide to give Q's son the operation. After his son is fixed finally, John. Q would have to go to prison for holding the people inside the hospital hostage. This movie is such a great film because it stars Denzel Washington. You'll always know that any movie with Denzel Washington in it will be great because he puts so much effort into the movies he stars in. John Q is a sad but funny movie. If you like Denzel Washington's movies, then watch 'Training Day', 'Remember the Titans' or 'Hurricane'. They are all fantastic! THANKS DENZEL FOR MAKING THE BEST MOVIES!!! One love
-Junkyard Dog
Rating:
Summary: Denzel saved a some-what average movie-plot
Review: WEll denzel does it again. HE did in training day, philidelphia and once again. THis plot has been re-done so many times that it has grown to be a bore. But denzel shines in this role and makes this movie touching.
well-worth your money..............
Rating:
Summary: Another Great Movie For Denzel.......
Review: Even though the part of the film where Denzel's character(John Q) taking over an Emergency Room and holding a handful of hostages was not realistic for the seriousness of the movie, the movie was great. You saw and felt the love between a father, mother, and son. A movie where u can feel each and every emotion the main characters felt, made this movie a great film.
Rating:
Summary: A Powerful Film!!
Review: "John Q" is an extremely powerful film filled with emotion and drama. The story revolves around John Quincy Archibald and his quest to receive proper medical care for his young son. His son collapsed suddenly during a baseball game due to the enlargement of his heart. The little boy desperately needs a heart transplant, but because of John's HMO coverage, which doesn't cover heart transplants and considers them elective surgery, his son's name cannot be placed on the heart recipient list. John then decides to take desperate measures and hold an emergency room hostage until his son's name is placed on the list. This film is saturated with deep emotion. John is not only willing to sacrifice his freedom by holding people hostage, but there's also another sacrifice he's willing to make towards the end of the film that will leave you speechless and will most likely bring a tear to your eye. Denzel Washington, Kimberly Elise, James Woods, and Anne Heche give excellent performances. Anne Heche is so convincing that you truly hate her character throughout most of the film. I would highly recommend this film. Not only is it entertaining, but it's also very imformative. You won't be disappointed!!!
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