--- title: "The Great Hack: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-great-hack/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-great-hack" critics_score: 67 critics_reviews: 12 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Great Hack (2019): what the critics said Critics' score 67 from 12 reviews: 8 positive, 2 mixed, 2 negative. Most critics find The Great Hack an unsettling, accessible account of Cambridge Analytica and the political uses of personal data. Praise clusters around its explanations of data harvesting, its international scope and the graphics that make digital surveillance easier to understand. Several reviews find the documentary gripping, with David Carroll’s attempt to recover his own data giving the wider scandal a concrete human focus. Brittany Kaiser also draws interest, though responses to her role differ sharply. The spread is wide: reservations concern both the storytelling and how convincingly the film establishes political influence. Some otherwise positive reviews find repetition, a fragmented narrative or insufficient scrutiny of whether voters actually change their minds. Slant Magazine argues that the focus on Kaiser weakens the explanation of Cambridge Analytica’s methods. Variety admires the energetic account of the scandal but objects to the simplified explanation of Trump’s victory and the film’s faith in regulation. ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 23 July 2019. Bradshaw finds the documentary gripping and chilling, a forceful exposé of data-driven political manipulation. He singles out its account of a campaign in Trinidad and Tobago that encouraged targeted voters not to vote. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jul/23/the-great-hack-review-cambridge-analytica-facebook-carole-cadwalladr-arron-banks) ## Radio Times — Andrew Collins Rating 4/5. The critic calls the documentary a terrifying warning about information mining. The review singles out its focus on data as a valuable commodity and David Carroll’s quest to obtain his own data. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-ex3fhl/the-great-hack/) ## Time Out — Tomris Laffly Rating 4/5. 22 July 2019. The review presents the documentary as an essential look at data theft. It singles out its globe-spanning scope and timely subject matter. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-great-hack) ## Evening Standard — Lucy Hunter Johnston Rating ★★★★✩. 29 July 2019. The review finds the documentary worth watching, though it never satisfactorily examines whether Cambridge Analytica actually changed voters’ minds. It praises the film for prompting viewers to reconsider data use and the powerful’s willingness to corrupt. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/netflixs-the-great-hack-review-the-inside-story-of-the-cambridge-analytica-scandal-a4197606.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 23 July 2019. Turan finds the documentary timely, significant and unsettling, with an involving account of how personal data can be used to influence elections. He especially praises its clear explanation of Cambridge Analytica’s data harvesting and its consequences. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-07-23/great-hack-netflix-documentary-cambridge-analytica-big-data) ## Sight and Sound — So Mayer Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 28 August 2019. Mayer gives the documentary a positive assessment, arguing that its visual approach makes digital surveillance newly legible. She especially praises its seamless animation and graphics, while noting that its human drama has limits. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/disconnect-my-skin-great-hack-visualises-surveillance-capitalism) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Daniel Fienberg Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 27 January 2019. Festival review. Fienberg finds the documentary persuasive and frequently gripping, though occasionally redundant and conflicted. He praises its character study of David Carroll and Brittany Kaiser while warning that its concerns about data collection also implicate Netflix. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/great-hack-review-1179623/) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 23 July 2019. The article text was inaccessible, so its verdict cannot be determined. I cannot reliably identify what the critic singled out for praise or complaint. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/movies/the-great-hack-review.html) ## The AV Club — Mike D'Angelo Rating C+. 23 July 2019. The critic finds the documentary an un-cinematic and ultimately frustrating primer on the Cambridge Analytica scandal. He singles out whistleblower Brittany Kaiser’s conflicted presence as its most compelling element. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-great-hack-is-an-un-cinematic-primer-on-the-faceboo-1836630762) ## Slant Magazine — Pat Brown Rating 1.5/4. 23 July 2019. The critic finds the documentary meandering and elusive, arguing that its focus on Brittany Kaiser undermines its treatment of the scandal. They fault its failure to explain Cambridge Analytica’s methods in detail, while singling out the filmmakers’ apparent effort to rehabilitate Kaiser as the film’s most revealing subject. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-great-hack-review/) ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 24 July 2019. Gleiberman finds the documentary intelligent but infuriating, arguing that it oversimplifies the causes of Trump’s victory and treats regulation as the answer. He praises its energetic, skillful explanation of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, while faulting its cloying fight-the-power framing. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/the-great-hack-review-cambridge-analytica-1203277059/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 24 July 2019. The critic calls the documentary an essential, eye-opening explainer, despite occasional difficulty holding together its multifaceted narrative. They praise its effective visual metaphor for the personal data traces people leave behind. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-great-hack-film-review-facebook-cambridge-analytica-netflix/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-great-hack.md