71
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayNeil Barsky's Koch doesn't try to do anything radical as a piece of filmmaking, but Barsky - a former newspaper reporter - covers Koch's story magnificently as a journalist.
- 88New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickKoch ends with the former mayor showing off a typically flamboyant gesture that embodies his contradictions - choosing to be buried in a Christian cemetery in his beloved Manhattan, complete with an already erected tombstone proclaiming his Jewish identity.
- 70New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinThe film is a canny balancing act, making Koch's arrogance so plain that you quickly move past it and concede that he accomplished remarkable things for a city that was broke and in chaos and with much of its housing stock in ruins.
- 70Village VoiceNick SchagerVillage VoiceNick SchagerIt's an effective primer on a voluble and charismatic mayor who embodied the spirit of the city he loved.
- 63Slant MagazineSlant MagazineNeil Barsky is aware of how a great and terribly troubling person can reside in the same body, but his occasional eagerness to appoint himself as his subject's latest press agent is dubious.
- 60Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearThe result is neither blind idolatry nor a definitive portrait; just a major missed opportunity content to loiter in the middle of the road.
- 60New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierThe politician who almost pathologically asked the question "How'm I doin'?" clearly never needed a view outside his own. Which is as New York as it gets.
- 60The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottLike Walt Whitman, another hard-to-classify embodiment of the spirit of New York, he is contradictory and multitudinous. The hour and a half Mr. Barsky provides might be enough time for a lesser figure. Mr. Koch...needs more.
- 60VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibBarsky wisely includes just enough dissenting voices and admissions of grievous error by Koch himself to prevent the picture from seeming like a 100% feel-good puff piece.