80
Metascore
26 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattEntertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattThe movie’s title, by the way, comes from the president’s own evaluation of his handling of the virus, a phrase he proudly repeated more than once.
- 91The PlaylistChris BarsantiThe PlaylistChris BarsantiFocusing primarily on the pandemic’s opening act in the first half of 2020, Totally Under Control feels fresh off the editing table. It is so timely, in fact, that an on-screen note at the end informs viewers that one day after it was completed, Trump tested positive for COVID-19. It reads like a punchline to the least funny joke ever told.
- 91ConsequenceBlake GobleConsequenceBlake GobleHere’s a cocktail so potent that it may just snap even the most tired and cynical viewers out of apathy.
- 90Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangLos Angeles TimesJustin ChangIt is hardly the fault of this breathless, incisive and thoroughly infuriating movie that it already feels a touch out of date. How could it not?
- 90TheWrapAlonso DuraldeTheWrapAlonso DuraldeThis is a documentary that feels confident and intentional at every turn. It’s a story we need to know now, and it’s an essential warning for future generations.
- 89Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerAustin ChronicleRichard WhittakerIts core, depressing, and unavoidable question is simple: How did one of the most advanced and wealthiest countries on the planet so completely fail in its response?
- 80The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeIf the film's title is an ironic use of Trumpian bluster, it also accurately represents the movie itself, which is about as far as you can get from Michael Moore-style agitprop while still having a red-blooded interest in this country's continued existence: The filmmakers avoid insulting a politician who deserves anything they might wish to sling at him, opting instead to let facts speak for themselves.
- 80VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeSubsequent docs will surely tell a different story, after survivors have risen up and confronted the individual they deem responsible — and Gibney et al. want this film to be instrumental in that solution.
- 75IndieWireEric KohnIndieWireEric KohnThe movie assembles a whirlwind of whistleblowers and disease experts to break down each step of the timeline, lacing it together with smooth editing and ironic music cues that makes the overall experience both absorbing and frustrating, though not surprising in the least.
- 60The GuardianCharles BramescoThe GuardianCharles BramescoAll said, there are less educational ways to raise your blood pressure for two hours, and the masochistic Twitter-refreshers nourishing themselves with a steady drip of maddening headlines will have plenty to fume over. Starting with the sniggering title, this torturous rehashing of yesterday’s history all seems to be for them.