Recount 2008

John Leonard, New York Magazine/Vulture: A splendid cast mostly just sits around watching the bad news on television, dutiful to the letter of Danny Strong's conscientious script yet insufficiently roused to righteous spirit even as, before their eyes, our republic gets banana'd. Read more

Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe: The movie doesn't embrace its potential for farce, for suspense, or for outrage. Ultimately, the filmmakers could have punched a little harder. Read more

Robert Abele, L.A. Weekly: Roach gets a lot of suspenseful mileage out of these ping-ponging reversals of fortune. Read more

Alessandra Stanley, New York Times: An astute and deliciously engrossing film. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Recount, an efficient and relentless enactment of the strategists on both sides of the Florida controversy, shows an accident that was waiting to happen. Read more

Heather Havrilesky, Salon.com: In the end, spin wins out over substance, just as it does in every modern American fairy tale. Read more

Tim Goodman, San Francisco Chronicle: It's impossible to overstate the excellent casting here. Read more

Troy Patterson, Slate: It grovels for the approval of political junkies while flaunting the shallowest interest in politics, and everything flows from there in the most silly fashion. Read more

Brian Lowry, Variety: Smart, star-studded and anchored by another fine-tuned performance from Kevin Spacey. Read more

Tom Shales, Washington Post: An electrifying slapstick tragedy about a mad moment in American politics, a moment that must never happen again but easily could. Read more