70
Metascore
31 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanPotent and eye-opening documentary.
- 100Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittAbsorbing.
- 88Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonIt's not a hasty, knocked-together promo job--though it is clearly pro-Kerry.
- 80Dallas ObserverRobert WilonskyDallas ObserverRobert WilonskyIt's hagiography, yes, but also powerful and poignant.
- 70The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasWhen it steers away from campaign-ad testimonials and considers Kerry's moral awakening in Vietnam and beyond, Going Upriver features some tremendously powerful scenes.
- 70Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanI got a charge out of Going Upriver, but as more than one person has noted, the movie's ideal spectator would be Kerry himself.
- 70Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonIt's one view of Kerry that seems to have been lost in the present acrimonious shuffle.
- 60VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyButler is in no way a hot-headed or contentious piece of agit-prop, unlike so many other election year documentaries; like Kerry himself, the film speaks to the mind, not the emotions.
- 50New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerNew York Magazine (Vulture)Peter RainerIt underscores, with ample footage from his rallying speeches and his 1971 testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, just how important it was for the antiwar movement to be represented by someone like Kerry.
- 50L.A. WeeklyErnest HardyL.A. WeeklyErnest HardyThe film won't likely change any minds, but there's a taut political essay beneath the blatant campaigning.