CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

guy-372 Now, after reading multiple biographies of the founding fathers and previously becoming an expert on human behavior, I'm sad at the distortions of history, biography, and human behavior perpetrated by this mini-series. This mini-series portrays John Adams as a melancholic, principled, angry man, which is entirely wrong on melancholic and angry, and only partially right on his principles, as these were distorted. It failed to show John Adams as the devoted follower of Samuel Adams and committed to the same cause as Samuel Adams from where the mini-series begins and places John Adams at the edge of all the action, instead of among Samuel Adams' fomenting puppet masters, who never appeared at the riots. This highly fictionalized portrayal highly ignores history's record of who John Adams was and the very deep religiously pious nature of both Samuel Adams and John Adams; portraying Samuel Adams as ostentatious, nobly garbed and an accumulator of wealth, when the opposite was true. John Adams was much more likely to be decked out in fine clothes than Samuel Adams, who despised pretension and ostentatious spending. Moreover, John Adams had by the beginning of this mini-series already been among Samuel Adams' secretive inner circle. Samuel Adams was known to hold unprovoked violence toward persons as reprehensible and unacceptable to his God, thus in Samuel Adams' piety, it was likely Samuel Adams who asked John Adams (the only lawyer among them) to represent the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre. Moreover, the alternating angry and melancholy natures of this portrayal is not only historically in accurate, as John's actual character was more like an enthusiastic irrepressible happy little dog, rather than the universally unlikable character of this angry melancholic portrayal, which never gets a person chosen or elected for anything. From that huge error and others on this mini-series, it this portrayal is doomed to be a highly inaccurate, highly fictionalized portrayal of John Adams, which only historians will recognize, because of the broad ignorance of the masses.

blanche-2 Very few of our nation's forefathers seem very human to us today. Important men, yes, but with the exception of maybe Benjamin Franklin, he of the smiling face and the twinkle in his eye, we don't connect with any of them.The brilliant HBO miniseries "John Adams" gives heart, soul, ambition, foibles, and temperament to these men - Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Samuel Adams, and tells us about who they are, how they lived, their interpersonal relationships, and their goals for our country.Meticulously cast, historically researched, and impeccably costumed, we are given a look at the personal and professional life of John Adams (Paul Giametti), his wife Abigail (Laura Linney), and his children. Because of his work for the country, the family was asked to make sacrifices as he had to travel and stay away for long periods of time. It fell to Abigail to take care of the farm and their family.We get a good look at the hardships people endured in those days, including the crudeness of the medicine, the difficulty in communication - no Internet, no phone, only letters that had to travel great distances.Giametti and Linney -- there isn't much to say because there aren't sufficient adjectives. Brilliant, mesmerizing, detailed, flawless, emotional performances - all those words are trite. The beauty of the casting is one of the things that makes this miniseries great, and these two actors are at the top. Stephen Dillane as Jefferson, David Morse as Washington, Tom Wilkinson as Franklin, Rufus Sewell as Alexander Hamilton, are all sheer perfection. But none are asked to do what Giametti and Linney did -- Giametti had two days off in six months, apparently -- Adams lived until he was 90, and we saw him do it! This is a breathtaking miniseries that vividly shows the language, the way of life, the hardships, and the political arguments of the era, and puts the experiences into breathing human beings. I am so glad that I saw this, and thrilled that the actors and series received so many awards and nominations. Painstakingly directed by Tom Hooper, and written by historian David McCullough and Kirk Ellis, "John Adams" is a landmark in television and not to be missed.

Desertman84 John Adams is a television miniseries chronicling most of President John Adams's political life and his role in the founding of the United States. Paul Giamatti portrays the title role.It also has a stellar cast that includes Laura Linney,Stephen Dillane,David Morse,Tom Wilkinson,Danny Huston,Rufus Sewell,Justin Theroux and Guy Henry.The miniseries was directed by Tom Hooper. Kirk Ellis wrote the screenplay based on the book John Adams by David McCullough. The biopic of John Adams and the story of the first fifty years of the United States was broadcast in seven parts by HBO.The miniseries was simply one of the best about former President of the United States,John Adams as Paul Giamatti brings him to life.As Giamatti interprets him, Adams seems both intelligent and ordinary enough to pass as all the things he truly was: a shrewd lawyer, a nettlesome Continental Congress debater, a huffy ambassador to France, and, eventually, the second President of the United States. You'll feel goose bumps of pride when you hear bits of the Declaration of Independence being read aloud.Also commendable is the portrayal by Laura Linney of Adams' wife, Abigail.Aside from the performances,the miniseries is one brilliant and thought- provoking film about the history of the United States.Its twenty-three Emmy Award nominations and the thirteen that it won will definitely attest to that.

denis888 I love the US history, and among my favorite topics is the American Revolution. Then, there is one man whose great deeds are somehow overshadowed by all-time greats such as Washington, Jefferson or Franklin. This man is John Adams. His fervent character, his single-minded vigor and pursuit of his goals made him a remarkable and controversial figure. His often fiery character and his inability of not keeping his mind, all of these made him enemies quite too often. The HBO series made a great, huge, impeccable job of depicting John Adams and his time. Everything is done here with an utmost accuracy and mesmerizing precision. The casting is another great win - Paul Giamatti as Adams, Laurs Linney as his beloved wife Abigail, David Morse as General Washington to name the few, are all excellent choices. All of the primary and secondary actors do their job well, and how can we forget great Tom Wilkinson as Mr. Franklin. The setting, the soundtrack, the costumes and the unbelievably precise details add it all to the utter pleasure of watching this awesome serial. Highly and undoubtedly recommended