Hank: 5 Years From the Brink

A denial of personal responsibility and inadequate regulations: Isn't that what led us to the brink in the first place?

This is not a film that will be remembered for its high drama, but it wouldn't be surprising to see it studied in future years by scholars trying to gain perspective on a calamity that almost brought the world to itsknees.

For all of Paulson's intelligent calm in front of the camera, he is telling an American horror story of massive proportions.

This highly sympathetic documentary profile of Paulson is slightly redundant, but it's also more factualized and instructive in its financial detail.

The documentary's greatest strength is its ability to humanize Paulson.

It's informative but not enlightening, and Mr. Berlinger packs in chattering news clips and a score that's audible under the interview.

Providing more than a glancing view of the crisis from the perspective of his opponents would have made for a richer, more encompassing, and possibly more engaging film.

Hank is basically a big love letter from Paulson to himself, and it's a mystery to me why Berlinger would lend his talents to such an effort.

Only essential if you missed every other doc on the recession or are incredibly invested in learning some unneeded details about Hank Paulson's life.

While you may not walk away fully grokking the subprime market or securitization, you'll get a sense that Paulson probably was the best person to deal with a very bad situation.