May 21, 2004. Reception Critical reception Control Room received positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 95% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 111 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.80/10. On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 79 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Controversies and criticism Control Room has been criticized for partisanship and bias. The film is accused of partisan portrayal where "the Al-Jazeera reporters and characters are shown as stronger characters, while the American reporters she chooses are framed as a motley lot, who are seen shallow, or cynical, or inappropriate as they're seen laughing, challenging, doubting, mocking." Questions have also been raised on the sequence where Al Jazeera's cameraperson Tariq Ayoob is killed by a US A10 aircraft circling overhead. Critics have questioned whether it was really a US aircraft that fired the missile, which Noujaim shows, or the sequence of footage was being rearranged and shots from a completely different incident were used to make a completely different point. Noujaim has defended the criticism of objectivity and treatment by stating "I am not saying it is the truth, but it is our truth." Special features The special features that accompany the DVD contain further interviews. In one, Hassan Ibrahim states his belief that Bush's actions are just as much terrorism as Bin Laden's, and that any use of violence is terrorism. The unidentified person speaking with Ibrahim retorts "So there is no such thing as terrorism?" Ibrahim goes on to refute the word "terrorism" as a term that is unjustly applied only to Arabs, and unthinkingly adopted by the US media and public. In another segment Dima Khatib states that her personal views do not colour what Al Jazeera presents, because "Al Jazeera just presents information". The film further notes that both the Bush administration and radical groups in Iraq (such as elements of Saddam's fallen regime) distrust and dislike Al Jazeera's information. See also Axis of Evil Baghdad or Bust Kill the Messenger My Country, My Country War Feels Like War References External links Noujaim Films - Control Room official website Metacritic - Control Room review collection Rotten Tomatoes - Control Room review collection Charlie Rose Interview Iraq War 2004 films 2004 documentary films Al Jazeera American documentary films Documentary films about journalism Documentary films about the Iraq War Films directed by