The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair
The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair Image
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Metascore
67 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Summary: In an absurd comedy of errors, a freedom-loving Iraqi journalist is mistaken as Tony Blair's would-be assassin and sent to Abu Ghraib Prison where he discovers the true meaning of liberation. (Red Envelope Entertainment)

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    100
    The style is brash, and it works. Tucker and Epperlein illustrate Yunis' account of his eight-month imprisonment, much of that time spent at the notorious Abu Ghraib compound, with literal illustrations--pages seemingly torn out of a Frank Miller graphic novel.
  2. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Schickel
    80
    A modestly mounted, but curiously poignant little documentary... which somehow -- quietly, devastatingly -- shows and tells you more than you may perhaps want to know about the dehumanization implicit in the mighty, blighted Iraqi adventure.
  3. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Merle Bertrand
    80
    War is chaos and confusion even under the best of circumstances, of which this current fiasco clearly ain’t. The Prisoner… underscores this fact, as well as muddying up the waters on such commonly accepted platitudes as "Support the Troops."
  4. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    58
    By recounting Abbas' ordeal as an endless inarticulate monologue, The Prisoner reduces it to a dull anecdote--timely and relevant, perhaps, but an anecdote all the same.

See all 16 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. Lara
    10
    I saw this film at a New School/WNYC hosted screening in New York last night and had to share how overwhelmingly moving nad strangely uplifting it was. Go see this movie if you want a glimmer of hope that people in this country can sympathize with people in others and we can actually come together in times of great trouble. The filmmaking was completely entertaining and the film funny, almost hilarious at times. 5 stars!… Expand
  2. AdamH.
    10
    This film is a sequel of sorts to "Gunner Palace" the Iraq film that came out in 2005. Much like that film, The Prisoner is not overtly political, rather, it lets the characters tell the story. In Gunner Palace, the perspective is the American soldier. In The Prisoner, the perspective is largely Iraqi. The films should be watched together to fully appreciate. I don't want to give away too much, but I can say that you walk away from this film feeling like you know an Iraqi and have a new sense of just how much the Iraqi people suffered--both under Saddam and during this conflict. The film is also surprisingly funny and it should come with a disclaimer that gives the audience permission to laugh. It would be funny if it wasn't true.… Expand

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