78
Masie Crow's Sundance-selected documentary thrives on providing such depth and nuance to very real students with very real experiences.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
80
At the Ready plays like a frightening but necessary exposé of state-sanctioned copaganda targeting young people from marginalized backgrounds to groom them into instruments of their very oppressor.
91
IndieWire by Christian Blauvelt
Watching At the Ready, a rich piece of journalism as well as an expertly assembled documentary, you think you’re watching what could have a riveting feature story in print. Instead, it’s a Pulitzer-worthy cover story in cinematic form.
70
The Hollywood Reporter by Dan Fienberg
The documentary isn’t as thorough or enlightening on border issues as something like Netflix’s Immigration Nation, but the young heroes make At the Ready a good vehicle through which many viewers will be able to process their own preconceptions and opinions.
80
Crow and her crew accurately capture everyone’s emotions throughout and refuse to pull any punches along the way. At the Ready is honest, even in the moments when it becomes frustrating.
80
The film isn’t without hope, but it lifts the lid of an ugly truth and asks the tough questions needed.
58
What we get is a lot of good material presented in a rather straightforward manner.
80
An unsettling, often tender and thoroughly well-timed film.