54
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottNew Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottWhat it lacks in style, however, it more than makes up for in substance, as Shearer -- as smart as he is funny -- has assembled a vital and admirably accessible post-mortem on Hurricane Katrina.
- 75Portland OregonianShawn LevyPortland OregonianShawn LevyAt once breezy and substantial, but it could have been more powerful if it were, paradoxically, sharper and blunter.
- 75New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickWhen disaster struck, the documentary says, the powerful corps went to extraordinary lengths to silence, discredit and punish whistleblowers, many of whose allegations were supported by congressional investigators.
- 70Village VoiceErnest HardyVillage VoiceErnest HardyShearer builds an airtight case to prove his thesis, and one of his most chilling arguments is a roll call of brave souls whose lives and careers have been systematically wrecked in pursuit of the truth.
- 50The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinSo sleepy and understated that when John Goodman shows up to yell his way through an angrily sarcastic segment called "Ask A New Orleanian," it's incredibly jarring.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenThe Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenWhile Shearer admittedly makes an impassioned directorial debut, the film plays out like a data-heavy, extended investigative report with an academic emphasis on scientific findings over portraits of human suffering.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertUnfortunately, I was also convinced that trapped within this 98-minute film is a good 30-minute news report struggling to get out. Shearer, who is bright and funny, comes across here as a solemn lecturer.
- 40Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearWhistle-blowing works best without gratuitous pop-doc debris, but there are only so many dry, fact-heavy testimonies from engineers you can take before a certain dullness uneasily settles in.