Every now and then a film goes out of its way to beat you up with its message. John Q (2002) is one of those films.
Starring the always great Denzel Washington, John Q was directed by Nick Cassavetes, and also stars Robert Duvall, Anne Heche, and Ray Liotta. It was rated 23% by top critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but earned a 78% from the audience score. Obviously, there was a divide, and we wanted to get to the bottom of it.
All we could really figure out is that Denzel's performance was so strong, it kept viewers entertained and engaged. There are moments he carries the story, but he does almost all of the work for this film.
The plot isn't terrible, the acting isn't even that bad. The beats are just so on the nose that the film becomes unbearable fast.
