Rating: 
Summary: Keep the tissues handy
Review: I have never cried so much over a movie then I did for this one. Right from the beginning I cried, especially because this really could happen. I could identify with the character being a parent myself, where you get to a point that you feel such helplessness over the situation you feel you have no option. Great movie, but I can't see it again it affected me that much!
Rating: 
Summary: John Q deserves 10 stars!!!! Buy it and show it to everyone!
Review: Forget anything bad you read about this, especially from the completely useless film critics who hate anything that remotely resembles reality, art, or an actual useful use of the media of film. They only like murders, prostitutes, and the worst side of life. John Q is about you and me, the citizens of America, to whom the best our "government" has to say to us about our right to life, liberty, and the pusuit of happiness is "Don't get sick!" If you do and you don't have a lot of money, and I mean a lot, you are going to stay sick, maybe get sicker and may even die.This movie explores this subject in a way that today's film critics have no understanding of, it's called Drama. It's not reality, it's a movie, and a movie's purpose is not just to entertain and make money for the studios so they can pay for the critics to take junkets to fancy hotels. The purpose of Drama is to entertain AND to inform. John Q does both. It makes you think and you enjoy the process because you are not being talked down to, which Hollywood and the film critics do with almost every other movie they spew out at us, prepackaged, pre-chewed, and pre-explained. Here we have a movie that could actually get some changes going and what do these negative ninnies do? They carp about it not being realistic because the people in it have a realistic and intelligent conversation about an important subject. Don't you get it, people? Hollywood and our government doesn't think that we are intelligent and the way we let them get away with telling us that we cannot afford universal health coverage for American citizens unfortunately proves that, for quite some time, they have been correct. Get John Q, get motivated, show it to your friends or even lend it to the ones that give things back, and let's get our elected officials focused on the single biggest threat to the health and safety of every American, the fact that if you get sick and you don't have great health coverage, you're going to get sicker and may even die a horrible death.
Rating: 
Summary: Is this the only way?
Review: John Q revolves aroung a simple and common man John and his small family - his wife and son - Michael. Things go on fine until Michael gets into trouble - not a common problem that can be treated easily - Michael requires a heart-transplantation. John, so confident (and so ignorant) that his insurance will cover Michael's surgeroy comes to know to his surprise and shock that his employer changed his insurance from PPO to HMO. Though the hospital admits Michael on emergency could not continue his medication owing to the high expense involved. Poor John runs out of options before taking the gun to get life for his son. For me, the movie lacks the objective. Will gun be the answer for all? Though John's character is portrayed as a common man, he should have consulted an attorney to tackle the insurance issue why the insurance was changed without his knowledge. (His conversation with his employer weakens the objective) Instead the system is blamed, the doctors are deemed bad and so on. John's thoughts and deeds were more emotional than logical. For this reason the movie was a slack many a time. But Denzel Washington gives a splendid performance as John Q, the emotional father. He proves again that he is worth the Oscar. Nice that his actual son played the role of Michael. I strongly feel that the movie could have been taken very nicely with such a great crew and theme. The two stars are only for Denzel Washington.
Rating:
Summary: Controversial, Edgy, TRUE TO LIFE!!!
Review: Anyone who can't see that this movie is almost a page out of the life of a real US citizen has no concept of what life is really like for many Americans who don't have the finances to get health insurance to cover life-saving costs. Great movie, and, while not speaking from personal experience, I can safely say that situations like the one John Q lives through occur constantly in this country. Why doesn't the US adopt a health care system like Canada? Federally financed health care means that everyone is taken care of. I know that some of the content of my "review" didn't directly concern the movie, but I thought it would be an ample opportunity to voice some of my views on world issues and concerns.
Rating: 
Summary: Total waste of time
Review: I can hardly believe how inept this picture is. I skipped seeing this in the theater, and so finally caught it on DVD. So many competent actors in the most pathetic roles of their lives. This should have gone straight to video, or been canned altogether. I could not even pretend to sympathize with a single character in this film, and seeing Denzel flailing so hopelessly, trying to wring emotion out of a totally brain-dead script, is downright appalling. It could almost pass for an accidentally dark comedy. You will not believe how stupid this film is till you see it. I have not seen a worse film in a decade (Jade?), and I am not exaggerating. 0 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Was that an infomerical or a political speech?
Review: John Q is an extremely intellectually dishonest movie that superficially presents only one side to a very complex issue. The entire movie is contrived to spread the message that we need socialized medicine. The problem is that they do not try to challenge your mind, making you think they might be on to something or pose any real facts that support their beliefs. No they simply preach to us "ignorant" folk, through a series of over the top exaggerations of healthcare woes, and pull at our heart so we feel bad for not accepting Hilarycare years ago. They even quote Bill Maher in that respect. Everything is this movie is contrived and everyone except John Q is vapid and one dimensional. Doctors are greedy, poor are righteous and life is black and white with the haves and the have nots. Health care suffers because of greed by insurance companies, your job and medical staff, not because of consumers demanding so much as well. This movie is an infomercial for an agenda, with nothing from the opposing view whatsoever. They push socialized medicine as a pancea, but do they show Canadians travelling to our country for better medical care? Do they talk about how countries with socialized systems often do not get the services they need nearby or at all as they are simply not available? What good is free healthcare if no one offers the service you need? Do they mention medical saving account,? quality of services or the impact on taxes and our economy? Non of these issues is even remotely touched upon. This movie could have been so good, with such a great cast, if they had just been a more honest and real about the situation and less preachy. Denzel is great as always and I tried to empathize, but I also felt like a republican at the Wellstone memorial. This issues is very worthy of debating, but to encapsulate it into the simplistics this movie does is truly ridiculous. Rent this if you want validation that socialized medicine is the answer, but don't go looking here for any stimulating debates or ideas.
Rating:
Summary: An Unforgettable Movie!
Review: This was one of the best Dramas I've ever seen. Denzel Washington stars as John Archibald, an uninsured man who's son Mike(Daniel E. Smith) collapses at a Baseball game. When they get to the hospital, they find out from Dr. Turner(James Woods) and Rebecca Payne(Anne Heche) that Mike is going to need a heart transplant or he's going to die. John and his wife(Kimberly Elise) try to get money by selling they're valubles. When they find out that they can't pay the amount, Denise tells John to do something. So John takes action. He holds an Emergency Room hostage. So Lt. Frank Grimes(Robert Duvall) trys to talk him out of it, until Chief Gus Monroe(Ray Liotta) shows up on the scene. It's a race against time when his son could live or die, JOHN Q is a movie that you will never forget. This is a great movie and I hope that it will never be forgotten!
Rating:
Summary: A manipulative film that insults an important issue
Review: John Q is the definition of disappointment. There is a great movie in it somewhere that could have been influential in health care reform. But instead, it becomes an absurdly one-sided argument complete with stereotypes and ill-placed humor. It's the story of John Q. Archibald, a father (Denzel Washington) who's son needs a new heart to live but can't afford the operation. His insurance won't cover it on a technicality, and the hospital can't cover the expensive price tag. Pressed into a corner, he takes matters into his own hands and holds the emergency room hostage. That's when the film plunges into absolute message mode. It could have been done skillfully, it could have taken this serious issue and presented both sides of the facts, it could have let the audience decide for itself how to feel about health care reform. It could have, but it didn't. Instead it manipulates the audience into feeling emotional about these characters. The hostages soon take John Q's side, criticizing the cardio doctor present (James Woods), and go into conversations discussing health care. The film here strangely sounds like propaganda rather then truth. The doctors are all made out as the bad guys, and the general public as one roots for the underdog John Q. There are no shades of gray here, just a black and white portrayal of a complicated issue. And that's a dangerous route to go because the average filmgoer isn't always able to discern the difference between a good film and one that manipulates them into thinking its good in order to spread its one-sided argument. The film further degrades itself by adding jokey one-liners straight out of an Adam Sandler film, complete with stereotypical racial jokes. I couldn't believe the producers thought it was a good idea. But what's worse is the corny dialogue that's supposed to be moving but is only laughable. It tries way too hard to be clever and emotional and only succeeds in becoming embarrassingly terrible. And with such a great cast, which includes Ray Liotta and Robert Duvall, the acting is as good as it can be with what they have to work with. They must be as disappointed in the finished product as much of the public is, because they all had good intentions to create an important film. In some ways, this movie would almost qualify as a guilty pleasure, but the reduction of such an important issue into propaganda-type smaltz is offensive. If you're a smart film-goer, you'll see beyond the surface of John Q for the film it is, and for the film it could have been.
Rating:
Summary: This movie is so close to home
Review: If you have loved ones that are sick and don't have enough insurance or you had insurance and your employer changed the policy - this is definately a movie to watch. This story crosses all lines of race and economic situations. Wonderful Movie!
Rating:
Summary: Poignant story. Easy to like.
Review: The soundtrack is just as fabulous as the movie. I wish they released the soundtrack on CD.
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