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Word Wars

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88% Tomatometer 34 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Word Wars

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Fascinating look inside the world of competitive Scrabble.

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Critics Reviews

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Kevin Crust Los Angeles Times 11/04/2004
3.5/5
Chaikin and Petrillo have crafted an empathetic and revealing portrait of four men whose obsession is both a little bit sad and more than a little bit recognizable. Go to Full Review
Joe Leydon Variety 11/04/2004
There's a pronounced lack of emotional pay-off that likely will derail any attempts to position Word Wars as an aud-friendly crowd-pleaser with breakout potential comparable to Spellbound. Go to Full Review
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 07/23/2004
3/4
Compellingly watchable. Go to Full Review
Christopher Null Filmcritic.com 01/19/2006
3.5/5
David Cornelius eFilmCritic.com 03/29/2005
3/5
Even with so much information lacking, Word Wars is still quite a treat. Go to Full Review
E! Staff E! Online 11/19/2004
B
Mostly lighthearted, yet somewhat unnerving. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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02/23/2013 cool character driven doc See more 12/12/2012 Wow. You can't make stuff like this up. See more 06/21/2012 Who knew that somebody could make such an entertaining and energetic film about Scrabble! "Word Wars" tracks four Scrabble experts on their quest to compete in the 2002 National Scrabble Championship. It is interesting to see the type of person that becomes a competitive Scrabble player - and it probably is not what you are expecting! This film goes beyond the board to throw you into the world of people that are so dedicated to their craft that they sacrifice their career aspirations in order to memorize words for hours a day. This documentary is very interesting and I recommend it, but it is a shame that they couldn't have censored some of the language out of this otherwise clean film. One character in particular, Marlon Hill, is constantly dropping the f-bomb and after about 10 swear words (in the first 2 minutes that he was on screen), I realized that the directors have really limited their audience. The quirky characters are what make this film fun to watch but Marlon tends to be a little much. Regardless, this is a fascinating look into the world of competitive Scrabble and if there is a censored version out there, this is definitely worth checking out. One final warning: "Watching this film will not enhance your ability to play Words With Friends or to find anagrams in words." See more 05/30/2012 People from all walks of life play Scrabble. See more 05/08/2012 A documentary about the Scrabble National Championships? Hell Yes!! See more 05/06/2012 Fascinating and strangely compelling. These Scrabble players are not normal. See more Read all reviews
Word Wars

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Movie Info

Director
Eric Chaikin