Davidson and Ladkani spend too much time manufacturing intrigue in The Ivory Game. Their lack of focus gives the impression of a lack of confidence. That's going to make it difficult to change anyone's mind.

| Jan 4, 2021

It doesn't take an ethnography lab to unpack the vested power of a tusk, but perhaps a more rigorous empiricism (e.g., Farocki), while compromising box-office appeal, could better serve a more enduring agenda.

| Oct 10, 2017

...more or less derailed by a slavish devotion to a cinematic format that it is not suited to.

| Original Score: C+ | Jan 3, 2017

Powerful docu shines light on efforts to save elephants.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Dec 6, 2016

While it is wonderful to see rangers, conservationists and activists in the documentary trying to fight and expose this terrible crime, you fear it's a losing battle.

| Nov 11, 2016

It is a film that explains more than it judges, which makes it much more powerful than the standard hand-wringing environmental documentary.

| Nov 8, 2016

While The Ivory Game's ambitiously broad look at the illegal ivory trade takes on a bit more than it needs to, it does shed some definite light on a growing global problem.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Nov 5, 2016

An extraordinary documentary that gives us hope that the last wild elephants in Africa can be saved from extinction.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Nov 4, 2016

A documentary that plays with the gripping pacing and glossy production values of a suspenseful, international thriller.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Nov 4, 2016

While more information on the animals and their ecosystems is needed, the stakes described here are immense, as is the sorrow over majestic creatures massacred only so that their tusks can be made into baubles.

| Nov 3, 2016

The cameras avoid the goriest angles of the mutilated animals, but the horror is amplified as the film moves from the savannas of Kenya and Tanzania to display windows in Hong Kong showcasing carved ivory curios.

| Nov 3, 2016

Don't think The Ivory Game is just an all-educational sound-byte-fueled heartstring tug. This thing is feet-on-the-ground investigative journalism.

| Original Score: B | Nov 3, 2016

"The Ivory Game" is a searing look at the cost of ivory and the bravery of the men and women who have dedicated themselves to ending the cycle despite resounding apathy from most of the world.

| Original Score: B | Nov 3, 2016

Depicts humankind both at its deplorable worst and at its best.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 3, 2016

Granted, advocacy docs tend to be kind of dull, but this one tries way too hard to counteract that perception.

| Original Score: C+ | Nov 3, 2016

So The Ivory Game is often pushily compelling. If it settled down and trusted viewers, it would stand as a stronger documentary. But this is more a work of activism than journalism.

| Nov 1, 2016

The you-are-there approach to tackling this subject means that The Ivory Game largely avoids lecturing its viewers; instead, the harrowing experience speaks for itself.

| Original Score: B+ | Nov 1, 2016

What is admirable about Ivory Game is that it recognizes the complexity of the issues.

| Nov 1, 2016

A committed, valuable film.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 31, 2016

There are moments when the movie tugs at your heart, but the subject matter, because it's so epic, deserves an even more probing and definitive treatment.

| Oct 31, 2016