Fahrenheit 11/9 reviews: What are critics saying about the new Michael Moore documentary?

Michael Moore shockingly predicted Donald Trump would become the 45th president of the United States.

And now for his new film, Moore is travelling across America to better understand the social, economic and political impact of Trump’s victory in the presidential election.

Fahrenheit 11/9 also investigates how the media, the Electoral College, the government agenda all compounded and how they too are impacted by the election.

Moore spends time in his hometown of Flint, Michigan which still does not have clean water.

What do critics have to say about Fahrenheit 11/9?

The documentary currently holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of 78 percent.

The sites critics’ consensus reads: “Fahrenheit 11/9 finds Michael Moore in fine fighting form, delivering a political call to action that ranks among his most effective works.”

Entertainment Weekly’s Leah Greenblatt wrote: “Fahrenheit aims to educate, entertain, and congratulate its audience for being smart enough to land on the right (left) side.

“What sticks, though, is the larger message the movie delivers in its call to private citizens on public service: Run, vote, care.”

“Yes, it’s easy to despair. But it’s possible, and so much more empowering, to fight back,” she said, giving it a grade of B.

But Anthony Lane of The New Yorker disagreed.

He wrote: “The film will neither change minds nor soothe embittered hearts, I fear, and an opportunity has been missed.”

Giving it a similarly negative review is The Atlantic’s David Simms who wrote: “A disjointed, occasionally powerful, often grating grab bag of recent political events, a mess that’s forgivable only because it does reflect the messy state of the world.”

Back in the positive camp, Glen Kenny for the New York Times wrote: “Mr Moore recognizes an affinity he shares with the president — also a showman.

“So he is in a nearly unique position to shame the viewer with a frank perspective on how Mr Trump used his extrovert side to make citizens complacent about the less savoury aspects of his character.”

Writing for Variety, Owen Gleiberman said: “The movie, in its way, summons something ominous and powerful.

“It’s not a screed – it’s a warning. It says, quite wisely: Take action now, or you may no longer have the opportunity to do so.”

The overarching sentiment in many of the reviews is Moore’s warning – its timeliness and sternness reflecting the mood of many people in the country (but not all).

Another a takeaway from the documentary is the sense of humour laced beneath the troubling messages.

Timely and cautionary, Fahrenheit 11/9 was overall well received by critics – even if its audience score is only 57.

The documentary premiered in the UK at the London Film Festival on October 14.

Fahrenheit 11/9 is out in UK cinemas on October 19, 2018.