American Gun
User Score
6.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 12
  3. Negative: 1 out of 12

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  1. DarkM.
    Jan 3, 2007
    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.
  2. Sam
    Apr 6, 2006
    5
    There are three words that came to mind when I saw this movie, "Crash", "Rip", and "Off".
  3. Jake
    Apr 6, 2006
    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.
  4. ChadShiira
    Apr 8, 2007
    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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
48 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 14
  3. Negative: 2 out of 14
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Michael Rechtshaffen
    40
    A painfully earnest but dramatically inert film.
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  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Joe Leydon
    40
    Lacks focus and momentum as it attempts to interweave diverse story strands into a cautionary tapestry.
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  3. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson
    50
    All of the stories are conceived as ongoing plights, and have no third act. Which would be an improvement on Haggis's hyperbolic civics lesson if Avelino had the chops to master realism and embrace ambivalence. The acting is pro enough to keep your blood up, but the reverb is minimal.
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