Critic Reviews

Part personal essay, part investigation, the docuseries “Exterminate All the Brutes” is a striking piece of nonfiction work that has the intellectual rigor of an advanced history course, and asks that viewers keep up with its many ideas and horrors over the course of its four hours.

It may well be the most politically radical and intellectually challenging work of nonfiction ever made for television. ... The visuals are as arresting as the words. ... Exterminate All the Brutes makes an electrifying instruction manual.

The questing, curious way in which Peck brings together inquiries and observations and potent visuals makes for a powerful and immersive experience. ... Rather than referencing the present moment to a fault, Peck is working on a grand scale and a sort of geologic time, measuring our history in acts of cruelty. He does so with a visual imagination and an unblinking-ness that will leave those viewers who are up for the challenge dazzled and, perhaps, changed.

The documentary feels fresh and current next to the ongoing debate over America’s past and iconography. ... What we do with the knowledge we gain from this amazing work is the question that Peck leaves unanswered.

From a pure filmmaking perspective, Exterminate All the Brutes may be unparalleled among TV docuseries; the closest I can think of is the complexity and contextualization evident in the 2016 Oscar-winning 10-part series O.J.: Made in America. Peck doesn’t rely on tired visual tropes or techniques that would make it easy to just put on the show in the background while you’re doing something else. He demands our attention with wit, craft, and well-placed anger.

Exterminate All the Brutes is a daring, imaginative and defiantly challenging artwork — one that often feels like it belongs as much in a museum as on a TV or laptop. That kind of ambition almost guarantees some minor missteps. ... But as this introspective yet cosmopolitan cri de cœur demonstrates, Peck is an ideal guide to help us confront the truths we’ve yet to fully grapple with.

More than 1,000 years of genocidal events are a lot to consume, but Peck creates a cohesive journey that shows how original sins manifest into present-day racial injustices.

Despite starting off a bit all over the place, Raoul Peck’s Exterminate All The Brutes has a lot to say about a part of Western civilization’s history that absolutely needs to see the light of day.

It’s a demonstration of how individuals reckon with the past. “Exterminate All the Brutes” does its best work under these conditions, and the rest of the time remains watchable, even if it’s several weight classes higher than what the average viewer can go toe to toe with. Even above average viewers may find the series outmatches them. But watching it is a challenge worth meeting.

The approach Peck takes in “Exterminate All the Brutes” is a thought-provoking and worthwhile and, yes, complex response.