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The Trials of Henry Kissinger
Metascore
72 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
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  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Bob Graham
    100
    Haunting music, the seriousness of the allegations and riveting interviews with Alexander Haig, Christopher Hitchens (whose book inspired the film) and others give "Kissinger" extra drama and urgency.
  2. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    100
    Pungent, opinionated, outspoken.
  3. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    90
    Makes compelling, provocative and prescient viewing. You can draw your own conclusions.
  4. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Marta Barber
    88
    Puts you on edge about what goes on behind the closed doors of the White House. Even if the case against Kissinger is not fully convincing, the documentary keeps you glued to your seat and thinking long after you've left the theater.
  5. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    88
    The Trials of Henry Kissinger serves as both a prosecution brief on the above charges and an unauthorized biography.
  6. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    88
    In ''Trials,'' Hitchens is almost endearing, stalking Kissinger from one event to the next like a bleary-eyed Michael Moore.
  7. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    88
    The movie never undercuts his brilliance and his unexpected charisma. No matter how high his degree of malevolence, he cuts a bigger figure after you see the movie than he did before.
  8. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    80
    Bluntly effective.
  9. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marrit Ingman
    78
    The film is sufficiently methodical and well-researched to walk the walk behind its controversial premise. More to the point, it's terribly involving, intriguing enough to hook documentary-shy viewers.
  10. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    Fascinating to watch as a portrait of political celebrity and ego.
  11. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Allison Benedikt
    75
    While the filmmaking is standard documentary fare and the approach overtly biased, the narration, with tales of intelligence intrigue and ruthless foreign policy, is compelling and convincing.
  12. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Foreman
    75
    This brisk, British-American co-production is one of the better political/historical documentaries to come out in some time.
  13. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    70
    The case is a convincing one, and should give anyone with a conscience reason to pause.
  14. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    70
    A muckraking effort that will probably play best to the converted.
  15. Variety
    Reviewed by: Ronnie Scheib
    70
    A chilling history lesson in realpolitik.
  16. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    70
    Damning legal brief against the former secretary of state.
  17. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: David Denby
    70
    The movie feels not only like a trial but like a trial in absentia. [7 Oct 2002, p. 108]
    All this critic's reviews
  18. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    70
    Provides a valuable refresher course in our less-acknowledged methods of meddling in the affairs of other countries.
  19. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    67
    Watching this film, one is left with the inescapable conclusion that Hitchens' obsession with Kissinger is, at bottom, a sophisticated flower child's desire to purge the world of the tooth and claw of human power. The movie isn't, finally, an argument. It's a long angry ''Boo!''
  20. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Andy Klein
    60
    Two minor drawbacks: Onscreen IDs of speakers are sometimes omitted. And Kissinger's crimes seem almost paltry in comparison to current American policies.
  21. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: John Powers
    50
    To explore seriously the question of Kissinger's crimes wouldn't merely take hours, it would require the patient, unblinking vision of a Frederick Wiseman or Marcel Ophuls. Gibney and Jarecki just want to string the bastard up.
  22. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Noel Murray
    50
    On the whole, the filmmakers hold too much to the text, and too often employ the smugly knowing, self-righteous tone typical of British telejournalism.
  23. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: J. Hoberman
    50
    Circumspect documentary.
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