American Gun
American Gun Image
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Metascore
48 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 14
  3. Negative: 2 out of 14
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    Aric Avelino shows an almost tender restraint in his story-telling, not pounding us with a message but simply looking steadily at how guns have made these lives difficult.
  2. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Felix Vasques Jr.
    60
    The last act of American Gun is quite possibly one of the most ridiculous and forced dramatic twists I've seen in years.
  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: John McMurtrie
    50
    Three story lines make up this tense movie, and while each has its strengths, they don't quite add up to a satisfying whole.
  4. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    38
    It turns out the stories don't unite at all. Instead, we get a series of dramatic vignettes, most of them decently executed but all of them rooted in the weepy sensibility of TV movies.

See all 14 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 4
  3. Negative: 1 out of 4
  1. DarkM.
    7
    Sure it has the "Crash"-esque feel, but it's not as bad as everyone seems to make it out to be. It's not like Hollywood has NEVER had similar movies come out at the same time, so give it a chance. Some fine performances, noteably Forest Whitaker, Marcia Gay Harden and Chris Marquette.… Expand
  2. ChadShiira
    6
    Janet(Marcia Gay Harden) and her son(Chris Marquette plays David) need to yell at each other until their ears bleed(and ours) as a distraction because "American Gun" is about to become convoluted. After David is thrown out of private school(because his mother did an interview about her other son), Janet informs her child that he'll be attending Ridgeline, the scene of his older brother's crime. Marquette can screams bloody murder at his mom all he wants; we're simply not buying it. A faculty and student body who are still in the process of psychical healing following a bloodbath of Columbinesque proportions(it's only been three years), would not allow David's entrance into the Ridgeline population without a fight. "American Gun" fires a few blanks(I'm also not convinced that a pacifist like Mary Ann(Linda Cardellini) would go to a firing range after one incident), but the inclusion of a predominantly black high school in juxtaposition with a white one hits the bullseye. When Jefferson County(where Columbine is located) residents were interviewed by the media after the slaying, a lot of them expressed disbelief that something like this could happen in their neighborhood. A school shooting is more likely to take place at the educational institution Carter runs. As the principal watches a third anniversary retrospective of the Ridgeline masacre, there is only sadness in his eyes, an understanding that he's been lucky, so far. In the film's deftest move, Principal Carter confiscates a student's gun, which leads to a situation we've never seen before on the screen.… Expand
  3. Sam
    5
    There are three words that came to mind when I saw this movie, "Crash", "Rip", and "Off".
  4. Jake
    2
    It's a terrible movie, but the message just pisses me off. Have you ever seen a gun unlock itself out of a cabinet, jump off a shelf, all by itself, and go out and shoot someone? I haven't, you know why? It's the people that choose to kill the people, not the guns.… Expand

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