Killing Reagan

As the cliche goes, you may think you know the story, but this telling is ­utterly compelling, with some terrific performances and a balanced, compassionate look at not only President Reagan (Tim Matheson, “The West Wing”) and first lady Nancy (Cynthia Nixon, “Sex and the City”) but of the would-be killer, John Hinckley Jr. (Kyle More, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) and his family.

[The movie] does drag at the beginning and the end. The middle material, however, dramatizing the assassination attempt and its aftermath, is engrossing.

It’s a formulaic treatment that seems intent on not making waves.

Killing Reagan is pretty much the expected, rote bio movie of the assassination attempt on President Reagan by John Hinckley Jr. (Kyle S. More).

A forgettable teleflick that feels bland and safe, dulling its appeal.

Lurie's treatment replicating these events is too dutiful to be particularly galling -- or interesting. The division of time between Reagan and Hinckley also blunts the drama, giving the actors little means of registering beyond physical resemblance to their real-life counterparts.

[Killing Reagan] feels rushed and incomplete, compressing this historic episode into a flat pancake of pointlessness.