68
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean AxmakerSeattle Post-IntelligencerSean AxmakerThe funniest film you'll see this year about a political assassination.
- 83The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThough The President's Last Bang is undeniably dense-with more than a dozen significant characters-the particulars aren't too tough to understand.
- 80L.A. WeeklyScott FoundasL.A. WeeklyScott FoundasThis meticulously well-made picture is disarmingly funny at times - not least during the ballet of bloody absurdity that is the assassination itself - but also subdued and straight-faced, with one eye planted on 1979 and the other on the violent student demonstrations looming in the distance.
- 80Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasAn outrageous, savagely comical account of the disastrous circumstances surrounding the assassination of dictatorial South Korean President Park Chung Hee in 1979.
- 75New York Daily NewsJami BernardNew York Daily NewsJami BernardThis South Korean political satire might not have historical resonance for American audiences -- it's loosely based on the 1979 assassination of dictator Park Chunghee by his own people -- but it takes the same comically dim view of governmental power and procedure as "Dr. Strangelove."
- 75New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoTake the real-life 1979 assassination of Park Chung-hee, the despotic, hedonistic, seal-testicle-loving president of South Korea, and stage it as if the Marx Brothers were running the country, and you might get The President's Last Bang.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco ChronicleAlmost satirical.
- 60VarietyDerek ElleyVarietyDerek ElleySouth Korean cinema finally gets its first full-blown political satire with The President's Last Bang, a virtuoso slice of sustained black humor.
- 60The New York TimesDana StevensThe New York TimesDana StevensTight, sober and strangely comical.
- 40Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanFrom mid-movie on, confusion escalates (along with one's incredulity).