To me, this movie is perfection.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The Kennedys is a first class look at the victories and tragedies of the iconic Kennedy family. The production, casting and dramatization of the Kennedy family and memorable events are beautifully captured on screen. Over the course of 8 episodes the lives and challenges of the Kennedys are explored masterfully with intrigue and grandeur. The details and accuracy of great historic events surrounding the Kennedy family are well portrayed. From Jo Kennedy's involvement, Frank Sinatra, Sam Giancana and Marilyn Monroe. The style and musical soundtrack beautifully reinforced the drama and intensity of scenes. We are moved effortlessly through time and reflections by certain characters of past events. Perhaps the strongest asset to this production is the cast itself. Greg Kinnear is very impressive as JFK and believable. Barry Pepper was brilliant in his portrayal as Bobby Kennedy. He immerses himself in the role from look, mannerisms and accent and 'is' Bobby. Katie Holmes is also great in her role as Jackie as she also looked the part and pays worthy homage to a great female figure. Special praise to Tom Wilkinson who was fantastic as Joe Kennedy and embodied a strong personality with ease, the main cast members hit it out of the park. One forgets and easily is taken into this great journey as a result of some great performances. I can and have re watched this masterpiece in television many times, highly recommended.10/10

I read most of the reviews posted here and it seems everyone has made some pretty good points across the board. There is SOOOOOOOOOOOO much to mine as far as story possibilities it is actually staggering. First off, the acting…(1.) I usually just ignore Greg Kinnear… But…I think he did a pretty good job. He did look like JFK, more than I thought was possible if I had to cast someone to play Jack. But…he can't hold a candle to Bruce Greenwood's performance in THIRTEEN DAYS. I remember seeing the Martin Sheen mini-series in 1983 and loved it, but alas, I haven't seen it since then. Sheen is such a fine actor that I'll take it on blind faith he nailed it better than Greg. A lot of JFK's magnetic personality was lacking in the performance, most especially the dry humour. But some of that blame should be heaped onto the writers for not infusing the script with more depth. (2.) Katie Holmes…. I think she has charm and talent. Did she nail Jackie, no…. was it a terrible portrayal, no. She did her job, no better no worse than any other capable actress could have done. (3.) Barry Pepper…I think he is a fine actor and did bring out certain traits of RFK that seemed to ring true. But..again I feel, like some others have already stated, Steven Culp nailed Bobby's personality for me, anyone else is just a copy of a copy. (4.) Enrico Colantoni's portrayal of Hoover left me cold. Far too animated at times. (5.) I like Tom Wilkinson and thought he gave a good performance as the cold and calculated Kennedy elder. Could it have been more sublime…sure. Could there have been a bit more lightness to counter the harsh "Kennedy-touch-football-win-at-any- cost" attitude…of course. Again this is the writers fault for not including these moments for the actor to use. Overall I think the series is a Clift Notes (or Coles Notes if you're Canadian like me) version of the Kennedy era. So much was left out and so much was incorrect. I could go on and on like some others but I won't rehash other reviews. If you know NOTHING about the Kennedy era then it will satisfy, if you do… then there are lots of things that will grate on one's nerves. SIMPLE fixes that did not hinge on spending extra money…just on a BETTER SCRIPT! The production value is pretty good but there is a "TV" quality about it. But that comes down to budget, you can only do so much with a finite amount of money especially when dealing with a by-gone period of history. It simply costs money to change our 21st century landscape to other past eras. So I will let that go and say they did a pretty good job (even though I have no idea of the allotted budget, it is not reported on this site). Having said all that…it is also up to the director and cinematographer to take what they have and make it better with staging and lighting and camera- work and…and… and…… ! The biggest problem are 1. the writing and 2. The directing. Lets deal with the writing…like others have stated, so many things were factually wrong with the entire series. Granted, it is impossible to include everything into an 8 hour time frame when you are dealing with such a big chunk of time and with as many important figures within this story…BUT at least when you cherry pick what you ARE going to use at least get it factually correct. The writers had the benefit of 50 years of other people's tireless investigative work on this subject (literally thousands of books and films out there) and yet it seems they made so many 101 factual mistakes with their script. This topic (the Kennedy's) should have dedicated much more that 8 hours to tell this epic story. I also agree with the few who pointed out the random ping-ponging back and forth in time within a single episode. Over all, just sloppy writing. Both writers come from TV and it shows. The director of 24, Jon Cassar, obviously used them since they worked on that show. A smart producer should have stepped in (at least one of the 14 listed) and kept them as junior writers, paid some extra money, gotten some heavy weight writers in to do the final drafts and made the entire series stronger. Oh… by- the-by; someone should have OK'd the hiring of a history consultant! But I'm sure that money was better spent on all the producers bonus's and perks or whatever. Now on to the biggest problem, the directing. This looks like a TV mini-series. Mr. Cassar could never be accused of being cutting edge or having a cinematic eye. Most of 24's unique look came from the editing. If this production had been shot in the 1980's it would be stellar, but in 2011….it looks okay at best. The entire series is simply a homogenized version of some truly monumental events in that era that demanded more attention to detail and more time to tell the story properly. The saddest part is that when a production company drops the ball on an important subject like this, that it usually takes a dozen years to pass until someone will justify spending money to produce a new version to get it right. At least there are other films and mini- series like THIRTEEN DAYS, JFK, PARKLAND, KENNEDY (1983), etc. to show a more accurate view of whatever slice of the pie they chose to present. As of this writing the same production company is producing a follow up series and I'm sure it will serve up the same old same old. Unlike the first time, I will not be buying that DVD set sight unseen. So to sum it up, this mini series is basically the BEST OF the Kennedy's with a bunch of the hits missing.

I did not find this title very entertaining, but I did find it informative. It was interesting to me being able to see what I've learned in class acted out on screen in such a way. I can conclude that the goal of this television show wasn't to entertain but to inform, and I believe that it carried out its' purpose. Kennedy was always one of my favorite presidents but seeing this period in his life versus reading it or hearing it was a good experience for me. It probably also wouldn't be my first choice of something to watch on a Friday Night, but it is useful for those who are trying to get more information on Kennedy and his administration.

"Your name is Kennedy & Kennedy's never come second." The controversial mini-series passed on by the History Channel that shows the highlights of the life of JFK (Kinnear) and RFK (Pepper). Beginning with the family preparing for election night and following them, with flashbacks, until the assassination of Bobby. Being a huge history buff, and more specifically a Kennedy buff I was very much interested in this. When I saw Greg Kinnear and Barry Pepper playing the roles of Jack and Bobby I was excited to see them in this. I was not disappointed at all. While some of the events were not exactly as they happened (Joe finding out about the assassination for one) this is still a very good account of the life of the men. Being a mini series and so much to cover almost all of the events are glossed over quickly, (the Cuban Missle Crisis is begun and finished in 42 minutes) but the important aspects are in this. The acting is fantastic from everyone, and the casting is perfect, much like Jaoquin Phoenix in "Walk The Line" no make up (besides the hair) was used and you swear that Kinnear is actually JFK. I can see why the History Channel did pass on this series though in the fact that it's not 100% accurate, but this is very much worth watching. This can easily stand up to (and in my opinion surpasses) the "John Adams" series. Overall, a fantastic award worthy series. Both for the series and the acting. Biggest problem with awards will be who to give supporting award to...Pepper or Wilkinson. Watch this! I give it an A.Would I watch again? - I will buy this.*Also try - Thirteen Days