Shock and Awe

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Shock and Awe

R

2018

1h 30m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

28%

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46 Reviews

42%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

In 2003, as the Bush administration prepares to invade Iraq, skeptical journalists question the administration's claim that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction.

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Critics Consensus

Shock and Awe has a worthy story to tell and some fine actors trying to bring it to life; unfortunately, the end results are still as derivative as they are dramatically inert.

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Kate Taylor

Globe and Mail

This sadly derivative film has one too many screenings of All the President's Men written all over it.

Rated: 1/4

Jul 27, 2018

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Bruce DeMara

Toronto Star

The story gives audiences an inside look at how journalism actually works at ground level, including the cultivation of sources, the use of "background" and off-the-record information. It has a strong feel of authenticity.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 26, 2018

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David Fear

Rolling Stone

At its best, Shock and Awe still feels like it strains to be Spotlight-lite and comes up lacking. The title is a misnomer.

Rated: 2/5

Jul 16, 2018

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Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

Movie has its heart in the right place but isn't angry or intrepid enough.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 28, 2021

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Steven Prokopy

Third Coast Review

Harrelson and Marsden are quite good and have a professional chemistry that is right up there with some of the best newspaper dramas.

Jun 17, 2020

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Jason Best

Movie Talk

The clumsily on-the-nose dialogue sounds as though it was cribbed wholesale from Geopolitics for Dummies.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 10, 2019

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Gino m

Reluctant opposition by the reviewers failure to acknowledge that American war interests are destroying this planet. Remember that American war machinery are what keeps them afloat globally. Does historic Rome ring a bell? This film offers the other side of the MSM processing of keeping the masses ignorant.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/06/24

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Georgan G

Sad to say, this movie is being ignored by the public like the journalists re WMD in Iraq. This war was just like Vietnam. Totally unnecessary.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/27/24

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Kyle M

Director Rob Reiner gone back to both "A Few Good Men" and "The American President" in one politically tense stretch and replicated what made "All the President's Men" a success, all in a dated though timely effective mixture with questionable value. The surrounding narrative is transportive and eternally earnest, ethically gripped by a nice cast derivatively inspired in delivering a worthwhile angle that values an informative line of factual exposure revolting against higher power, though obviously without much change besides the dedicated efforts. (B)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/24

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Barry M

I liked it...a superb cast and not over-stated, but oh, why was Hans Blix not mentioned even once? He was also vilified for being right, and no apologies that I've ever seen.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/16/23

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Jelisije J

This movie is very controversial because the director is a very anti bush, anti republican, anti trump and shouldn't direct a film that deals with the story of a new organization trying to reveal the fraud of the WMD lie during the IRAQ/AFGAN WAR. So when a director with such a high bias makes a film like this, that director clearly has an agenda and can't be a reliable source to spread the true message of the WMD story and every scene is tainted because of it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

10/03/23

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Angel G

Perhaps since we know the story so well the movie just seems a bit contrived. I'm sure they have to sell tickets but it just seemed biased more than accurate. It had underpinnings of having a political agenda more than an accurate presentation of one of the most important days in the United States' modern history. This too important a topic to leave in the hands of Rob Reiner.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/25/23

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Shock and Awe: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In 2003, as the Bush administration prepares to invade Iraq, skeptical journalists question the administration's claim that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction.

Director: Rob Reiner
Producer: Rob Reiner, Matthew George, Michele Singer, Elizabeth A. Bell
Screenwriter: Joey Hartstone
Distributor: Vertical Entertainment
Production Co: Castle Rock Entertainment, Savvy Media Holdings, Acacia Filmed Entertainment
Rating: R (Some Sexual References|Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 13, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 13, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $45.9K
Runtime: 1h 30m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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