Shock and Awe | Rotten Tomatoes

Shock and Awe

R

Released Jul 13, 2018

1 hr. 30 min.

Drama

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List

30%

47 Reviews

Tomatometer

42%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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Premiered Apr 07

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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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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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

Marian M

The truth came out too late

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/02/23

Full Review

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Rob Reiner

Director

Woody Harrelson

Jonathan Landay

James Marsden

Warren Strobel

Rob Reiner

John Walcott

Milla Jovovich

Vlatka Landay

Jessica Biel

Lisa

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Shock and Awe: Trailer 1

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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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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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
Executive Producer: Alastair Burlingham, Patrick DePeters, Wayne Marc Godfrey, Matthew Helderman
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
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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