Terror's Advocate

New York Magazine David Edelstein

A brilliant study in the link between moral corruption and narcissism.

Boston Globe Mark Feeney

Outrageous controversialist meets brilliant attorney, and fact intertwines with fiction.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jason McBride

If the roots of terrorism are hopelessly snarled, Terror's Advocate does a very good job of exposing some of the soil in which they grow.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Schroeder's film is a fascinating character study in contradictions and in the end Verges remains loathsome, oddly charismatic and willfully enigmatic.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

The title Terror's Advocate is both a statement of fact and a worrisome understatement in a documentary as slippery as its subject.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

It is one of the most engaging, morally unsettling political thrillers in quite some time, with the extra advantage of being true.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

It is the gift of Terror's Advocate, Barbet Schroeder's riveting new documentary, to simply present Vergès as is, to say "here is the man" and let things speak for themselves. Do they ever.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

Terror's Advocate is largely a mix of talking heads and archival footage, but as Vergés's connections to Swiss neo-Nazis and Congo secessionists are explored, the movie becomes a fantastic international thriller.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray

If nothing else, Terror's Advocate offers a useful summary of the last half-century of global politics, and how changing public perceptions can make goats out of heroes.

San Francisco Chronicle Tamara Straus

A complex story.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Whatever one makes of its subject's moral code and mind-set, one has to give Terror's Advocate its due: the stories are riveting, the man is real.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Less a portrait of this controversial man than a touchstone "to trace the history of contemporary terrorism."

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

The result is a panorama of European radicalism. Depending on your politics, you may think "long live the revolution" or "curse the day the CIA ended its assassination program."

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

A fascinating film even if it never completely pins him (Verges) down.

Variety Lisa Nesselson

Sure to inspire debate in France and Germany and of obvious interest to anyone who follows the roots of modern international terrorism, doc probes gray areas in the colorful life of its controversial, limelight-courting subject.

Premiere Glenn Kenny

It's a fascinating portrait, but it's also choppy and rushed and lopsided.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

While I understand Vergès' oft-repeated claim that he wants to use these sensational cases to point out that the French were no better than the Nazis in their treatment of colonial subjects, it's impossible to overlook his glib dismissal of his clients' crimes and the smug righteousness that rests in the smirk constantly on his face.