5 Days of War
Metascore
31 out of 100

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 14 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 14
  3. Negative: 7 out of 14
view
per page
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    Aug 31, 2011
    38
    None of the action is coherent; shots and shells are fired, people and killed or not, explosions rend the air, SUVs spin aloft (the same one more than once, I think), and there is no sense of strategy.
  2. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    Aug 19, 2011
    38
    Should appeal more to those who like to watch stuff blow up than understand exactly why the carnage is transpiring.
  3. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    Sep 8, 2011
    20
    Most unforgivable, however, is the film's coda in which real Georgian victims pose for the camera with pictures of their loved ones lost in the five days of war. Using real people to impart the emotions that the entire film was unable to evince is simply cheap exploitation.
  4. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    Aug 19, 2011
    0
    Harlin even makes poor Kilmer go running about. Just like that image, "5 Days" is embarrassingly clumsy.
  5. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: John DeFore
    Aug 25, 2011
    30
    Fails both as historical re-enactment and as action-flick thrill ride.
  6. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: John DeFore
    Aug 18, 2011
    25
    A tired old quote about truth being the first casualty of war is a strange way to start 5 Days of War, an overwrought drama that, whatever its good intentions, could hardly be said to aim for objectivity in its account of the 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia.
  7. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Jaime N. Christley
    Aug 15, 2011
    12
    Renny Harlin seems now incapable of taking a movie even as far as a few frames.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
2.0 out of 10

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 3 out of 3
  1. sirky004
    1
    The most biased film ever produced. Inspired by real events? I don't think so. This movie is very misleading from the real truth. If you want facts just visit wikipedia rather than this film.… Full Review »
  2. Spetsnaz_Reaper
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. "The first casualty of war is truth." Apparently so. It seems ironic that a movie with this as its opening statement would be so biased. Both Russia and Georgia committed war crimes on each other's citizens, make no mistake there. However if you, as the viewer really want to know the 'truth' please do yourself a favour and don't watch this one sided 'war' movie. It was declared by a European commission after the 2008 war that it was Georgia who started the war and there is actual REAL footage of Georgians firing on unarmed civilians using grad artillery launchers on the night of the 7th-8th of August. Apparently the producers decided that the Russian Federation is such a great Hollywood villain that Russia is portrayed as the old Cold War enemy (soviets) much like they were in the movie Charley Wilsons war. The Russians go about killing innocent civilians throughout the movie. Anyways, portraying the army of the Russian Federation as a bunch of rebels with their unsanctioned uniforms of balaclavas and Ak-47s really didn't do it for me. Never did you see the Russians in their standard issue military kit but rather looking like a bunch of rebel separatists, with the occasional officer in their full uniform of a Russian Federation officer. As I stated in the beginning there is so much wrong in this movie, almost all of the action scenes are not authentic of how the Russian Federations military doctrine works. Do a bit of research after this movie and ask yourself the question: "Why was this movie shown solely out of a Georgian perspective, and why was there no real video footage shown that the reporters supposedly caught on film about Russian atrocities?" Also the ending real life scene of the Georgian villagers (citizens) who lost loved one, is still showing the biased view of the war. The producers should also have shown the South Ossetia citizens who lost their loved ones to Georgian solders who murdered them. The true casualty of this movie is that you can't tell the world a one sided story about a war and label it as the truth. Rather tell the 'true' story from both the perspective of the Russians and the Georgians. The truth is out there people, think for yourselves and don't act like sheep. Hollywood is not reality but rather fiction, this '5 day war' movie being the latter.… Full Review »
  3. Shadeborn
    0
    Only truth of all the movie is "War has happened". How was it? Lies! Lies! And lies upon lies! Russia started? Sure thing! Russia also attacked Hitler) Why not). By the way, Russia killed Kennedy, Lincoln and Lennon). And 300 Spartans were slaughtered by Russians! And McDonalds - invention of Russians! To make all americans fat...and slaughter them all after that! All of my words are completely truth! As everything, that was said in "5 Days of War"… Full Review »
See all user reviews »