Popular reviews

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  Review by Jamelle Bouie ★★★★

  The Civil Rights Movement has become such a part of this country’s mythology that it is easy to forget the circumstances of what actually happened: A relatively small group of mostly young black people from working-class and impoverished backgrounds dismantled the legal basis for American apartheid and inspired freedom movements around the world.

  John Lewis was one of those young people — a kid, really — and it is no exaggeration to say he helped realize American democracy and in the process, change the course of this country’s history. 

  Anyway, the movie is good.

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  Review by Allison M. 🌱 ★★★★★ 1

  “I appreciate your contribution, but we need a mass movement.”

  It's hard to encapsulate the life of a man who worked for social justice throughout his career, but director Dawn Porter does a great job of making a well-made and thorough documentary.

  It features commentary from lots of politicians including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Beto O'Rourke, Stacey Abrams, and Elijah Cummings, among others.

  “This is not a time for despair. This is a time for action. That's what I learned from John Lewis.” -Eric Holder

  Vegan points:
  -John Lewis preached to chickens, and said his chickens were non-violent, because he taught them the way of peace.
  -John Lewis' wife, Lillian, thought fishing was cruel.

  After the documentary, it included a pre-recorded conversation between Oprah Winfrey and John Lewis which was a blessing.

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  Review by Dave Taylor ★★★

  Mad respect to this amazing human...but this doc wasn’t my favorite. Too much filler of Lewis walking places and getting ogled. Also, the structure was all over the place. It did seem very pertinent after the recent US election though...you realize the Republicans were crying ‘voter fraud’ because they just assume the Dems took a move from their playbook during the mid-terms.

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  Review by chavel ★★★

  One of the things mainstream evening news customarily fails to do, time and time again, is to ever give us the essence of its subjects. With their one-byte snippets and inclination to give us conflicted two-side agitation on any given subject or profile, the news rarely gives us that one simple thing – humanity. I’ve heard a number of great things on Congressman John Lewis my whole life, but I’ve never been able to count on news stations to tell me more, to reveal essence on the man. That’s why I’ve always been drawn to documentaries like John Lewis: Good Trouble, to give me dish on why he is so important and endeared by so many.

  Guess what, the documentary…

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  Review by 🐱Andrew Chrzanowski🐱 ★★★½ 9

  ☆"You must find a way to get in…good trouble, necessary trouble."☆

  Celebrate a true American hero on Independence Day by seeing this documentary about a man who's been fighting for his people's freedom for literally over six decades. Dawn Porter's John Lewis: Good Trouble lionizes the eponymous civil rights leader, U.S. Congressman, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and legend of protest and disruptor of racism in a portrait that humanizes a man who exists on a plane above most of us mere mortals.

  Now retiring this year from his Atlanta, Georgia congressional seat after 17 terms from a diagnosis of stage IV pancreatic cancer, during this moment of national reckoning of America's racial sins and legacy of white…

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  Review by eely 🎄 ★★★★

  I love sobbing uncontrollably for 98 minutes straight.

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  Review by 🤍 𝖘𝖚𝖟𝖆𝖓𝖓𝖊 🤍 ★★½

  “get in trouble. good trouble. necessary trouble.”

  with a subject so important to american politics who did some truly remarkable things throughout his life.. this documentary had no right to be this bland. john lewis is an inspiration and someone to look up to.. i hope he gets a better movie made about him one day. 

  scavenger hunt 2 | task 11

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  Review by Leesah Sea ★★★★

  JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE is a documentary that I knew I wanted to see but wasn't sure when I would get around to seeing it. With the passing of John Lewis this weekend, this jumped to the top of my watchlist. The recent interviews, live footage, and archival footage are all intertwined nicely to help tell the story of one of the most important civil rights activists. He's a man that spent his entire adult life trying to make the U.S. a better and fair country. It's hard to know if this was a true representation of how Congressman Lewis always was (always nice, happy, fair), but with numerous of his staff staying on for 20+ years, that's a good indication that he was a fair man. My hope is that following generations can continue on with the progress that he was able to make. Now more than ever seems like a time for good trouble.

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  Review by Jason Alley🏳️‍🌈🐻 ★★★★

  I have strong beliefs and ideals but I’ve never been made for the front lines.  I’m so glad there are people like John Lewis who are.  

  I’m embarrassed to say that apparently I needed a reminder that we’re not even one full generation removed from legalized segregation.

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  Review by AlfredAngier ★★★½

  Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble

  
  As an avowed non-fan of documentaries I was slightly wary of diving into John Lewis: Good Trouble and even though the film itself is uneven, the life and legacy of an American hero was still very engaging with just the plain accomplishments of someone who helped shape the country for the better.
  I think it could have stood to be a little more unconventional in the way the information is dolled out and the film verges on feeling like propaganda as pretty…

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  Review by Kyelus ★★★★

  It’s insane that John Lewis died shortly after the release of his documentary you can tell that he cared greatly about the movement was willing to die to make sure everyone had equal rights. It is great that we at lucky to had people like him willing to cause Good Trouble.

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  Review by Peter H ★★★

  Dawn Porter Double Feature: Part 2

  Rest in Peace, John Lewis.

  This documentary benefits from a fascinating and inspirational subject. John Lewis has lived an incredible life. I very much enjoyed learning more about him, his staunchly non-violent philosophy, his battle for civil rights, and his public service as a US Representative. He was a beautiful soul, and the nation is incomparably better for how he chose to live his life.

  After Dawn Porter's tight and structured "Spies of Mississippi," I was a little disappointed by this documentary's ambling. Rather than being organized chronologically, this film seems to be loosely organized around themes (e.g. his childhood, his nonviolence, his wife), and we jump back and forth in time for each…