It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

John Quincy Archibald takes a hospital emergency room hostage when his insurance won't cover his son's heart transplant. John Q didn't please critics (like most films this days) but it's action packed tension, the amazing and moving perfomance from Denzel Washington and the father and son relationship alongside the moving ending makes this an interesting and terrific drama that hits some messages and tells somethings that needed to be said. (A+)

This is the movie about real life, about real people. This could happen with anybody, even if you think that you insured. Who are we? Home sapiens? Zombies? Slaves of the God? Fellows? People? Nevermind. We are mortals! This is 100% true. We are human beings with minds and hearts. Keep this legacy all your time. This is very important to remember who you are and understand a reason to being here near to other human beings. Of course this is important to find the way, but the main point is keep it right. Sorry for my English. Thank you guys for this movie.

Despite all the on-cue cheering from the crowd, John Q is a piece of irresponsible agitprop (especially for a movie released in 2002, one year after 9/11) that sanctions vengeance, mob rule and anarchy. How many patient and law-abiding parents did John Q leap-frog in order to get immediate care for HIS offspring? (Talk about the 'selfish gene'!) Of course, writer James Kearns makes it all work out for the best -- to the point that the hospital actually seems to run better when it's being lorded over by a hothead with a gun. But then Kearns had improbably staffed the hospital with a fiendish administrator who was a cross between Eva Braun and Anne Robinson of the Weakest Link -- for which the script writer, incidentally, owes an apology to the vast majority of hospital administrators who (agitprop notwithstanding) actually have a heart -- and are forced to work within restraints that are for the overall benefit of everybody and shouldn't be subject to veto by any angry parent with a firearm.I could tolerate this film if John Q had shown any repentance at all, ever -- but far from it, he rides off into the sunset (to an incredibly short stint in the pokey) with a self-satisfied smirk on his face -- apparently totally uninterested in the fate of the sniper whom he gratuitously sucker punched so hard as to likely cause internal bleeding that could easily lead to death in real life -- possibly depriving that sniper's son of a father. But then John Q has made it clear all along that he's not interested in "sons" in the abstract: he just cares about his own son, thank you very much.If I could have rewritten the movie, I would have ended it with the grown Mike (now enrolled in college) chastising his father as follows:Mike: "Dad, I'm grateful for you saving my life, but..." Dad: "But what, son?" Mike: "Well, it's just that I've been reading Immanuel Kant in philosophy class and...." Dad: "You've been reading WHAT?" Mike: "And I fail to see how your actions square with the Categorical Imperative." Dad: "Look, you got a new heart, son: be happy." Mike: (after a moment of frustrated silence) "Dad, have you ever even HEARD of the word 'ignoble'???"

John Q is one of the best movies i've ever seen. It's very dramatic and affecting. The way Denzel Washington acts (Especially the "last talk" with his son) is incredible, the best performance I have ever seen! The movie to me shows how strong a band between a father and a son should be. A father who is willing to do anything for his son! Simply amazing. The way how everyone turns to support him, even the hostages, makes the faith in humanity restored (altough it is a movie)I can't understand why this movie only has a 6.8 in the ratings. in my opinion this is the most underrated movie ever!My favorite quote in the movie was "I AM NOT GOING TO BURRY MY SON, MY SON IS GOING TO BURRY ME!!!". I really felt it and had to struggle to resist my tears.