Cheadle, in his richest role since Devil in a Blue Dress, burrows deep inside this complex man, who discovers in himself a strength he never knew he possessed as he faces the disillusion of all the "civilized" notions he believes in.

| Jul 6, 2010

There's a tidiness and sense of convenience in the film's stock characterisations and button-pushing plotting that detracts from its impact. The film doesn't just contrive to contain the slaughter, but also its own anger.

| Jun 24, 2006

Who cares about overdone orchestral blasts or signpost-waving lines of dialogue when such raw, naked, painful humanity is displayed by Don Cheadle in the central role?

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 1, 2006

Cheadle has an Oscar nomination for best actor. But this isn't a grandstanding portrayal: it is a performance at the service of the work.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 17, 2006

Showing traces of the well-meaning paternalism that dogs many Western films about Africa, Hotel Rwanda doesn't go far enough in indicting Europeans and Americans for protecting their own while failing to intervene in time to stop the mass killings.

Full Review | Sep 26, 2005

Incapable of honestly confronting its ugly subject matter.

| Original Score: C | May 4, 2005

Here, now, is the true face of human barbarity, and the true face of human heroism. Not in the now-distant mythology of World War II…

| Original Score: A | May 2, 2005

The emotion comes from Don Cheadle's thrilling portrait of ordinary heroism, a performance that's matched only by the magnificent Sophie Okonedo as his wife Tatiana.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 22, 2005

Scrappy, powerful, and shocking.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 16, 2005

The great strength of Hotel Rwanda is that it's not about superhuman heroism but simply about human decency.

| Jan 7, 2005

The almost forgotten but all too real African genocide documented in Hotel Rwanda hits us as suddenly and as hard as it does Paul Rusesabagina, the accidental hero played so masterfully by Don Cheadle.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 7, 2005

It has a genuine power: the ability of film to beam light onto dark days of history, making it impossible for us to look away, reminding us of what we should never forget.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 7, 2005

What makes the film not just harrowing but transcendent is Cheadle. He does nothing traditionally heroic. He just presents a picture of basic decency, showing how, when combined with courage, decency can result in an awe- inspiring moral steadfastness.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Jan 7, 2005

A film that uses the comfort of the predictable to make horror palatable to a wider audience.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jan 7, 2005

Because of the subject matter, this feels like one of those films you see because it's good for you. But it also is an extraordinarily moving drama.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Jan 7, 2005

There is much to respect in Hotel Rwanda, not least Cheadle's subtly crafted performance, which allows the audience a direct connection to his ethical growth.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 7, 2005

If Hotel Rwanda does nothing more than provoke the obvious questions of 'How did this happen?' and 'How can we prevent it from happening again?' it has, like the hotelier who refuses to consider himself a hero, done its job.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 7, 2005

The film serves as reminder and educator for those who've forgotten or never knew about the situation in Rwanda.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jan 7, 2005

The world stayed out of Rwanda for fear of doing an imperfect job. Bold filmmakers are at their best when they mature beyond that kind of paralysis.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 7, 2005

Cheadle gives one of the best performances (if not the best) of last year -- an Oscar-worthy portrait of a man who kept his head clear and his humanity intact in the midst of a man-made hell.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Jan 7, 2005