The director glosses over rather than digs deep into such interesting aspects as the varied opinions of the men under Khodorkovsky who've had to flee the country because of him.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Tuschi has made a docu-thriller of enormous narrative flair and visual smarts. It's a perfect fit for the blend of Greek tragedy, spaghetti Western and judicial farce that defines business and politics in the New Russia.
With its subject still behind bars and the Russian government on the brink of reelecting Kremlin's United Russia party, the biggest triumph of Khodorkovsky is the case it makes for a sequel.
Tuschi leans too far into an admiring position, and you thirst for some commonsense critique. It's all a bit rich.
San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle
The documentary is not always fascinating, but Tuschi's ultimate thesis - that Khodorkovsky, who started out a shady businessman, ultimately emerged as a hero, willing to go to jail for his convictions - is a persuasive one. Clearly, the man is a political prisoner.
Village Voice by Nick Pinkerton
Though the PR bit is right on, Khodorkovsky goes some way toward questioning the guilt.
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
The prisoner rather eloquently portrays himself as a victim of human rights abuse.
The political intrigue behind the documentary would make for a great movie of its own.