I don't consider myself politically minded and went to see this movie hoping to learn something. I was hoping for a "big picture" unbiased view that laid out all the irrefutable facts and allowed the viewer to make their own educated decision, assuming that based on the title there would be more good than negative to sway most mildly intelligent viewers to a positive point of view. The first half seemed promising in this regard, but the by the time the movie was 2/3 done, I was growing bored and contemplating leaving.
Really all I heard were half-baked counterpoints to the common criticisms of America based on one man's opinions, which at the end of the day are only a small part of a much, MUCH bigger picture and really, nothing new. His viewpoints are largely hand-plucked out of that context in order to illustrate his own opinion of America. D'Souza is entitled to his opinion, but opinions are not always fact (and as we know, "everyone has one"), and should not be the basis of a "documentary". Mr. D'Souza's logic is hopelessly flawed, preferring to harp on very rare success cases than address the overwhelming circumstances that kept those cases rare. In trying to prove that suffering was/is either more universal or more avoidable than we previously thought, he effectively belittles it altogether. Sprinkle in a bit of "ooooh, the Government is spying on you" and you have this movie. This is not a historic documentary as much as a political agenda with too much to say to really say much of anything at all.
In the end, what he came up with is quite simply a very long anti-Democrat political campaign ad.
Any political debate will be polarizing and that is reflected in the reviews here. All this said, I did actually agree with a few points, but just like my middle-of-the-road political outlook, I'm rating it a square 5 of 10. I can discern fact from opinion, and I can make up my own mind when facts are presented to me... but this movie only presents the facts that support D'Souza's opinions which is again, only a very small part of a much bigger picture. I was less entertained or informed than I was annoyed, feeling like D'Souza underestimated my intelligence as the viewer.
Really all I heard were half-baked counterpoints to the common criticisms of America based on one man's opinions, which at the end of the day are only a small part of a much, MUCH bigger picture and really, nothing new. His viewpoints are largely hand-plucked out of that context in order to illustrate his own opinion of America. D'Souza is entitled to his opinion, but opinions are not always fact (and as we know, "everyone has one"), and should not be the basis of a "documentary". Mr. D'Souza's logic is hopelessly flawed, preferring to harp on very rare success cases than address the overwhelming circumstances that kept those cases rare. In trying to prove that suffering was/is either more universal or more avoidable than we previously thought, he effectively belittles it altogether. Sprinkle in a bit of "ooooh, the Government is spying on you" and you have this movie. This is not a historic documentary as much as a political agenda with too much to say to really say much of anything at all.
In the end, what he came up with is quite simply a very long anti-Democrat political campaign ad.
Any political debate will be polarizing and that is reflected in the reviews here. All this said, I did actually agree with a few points, but just like my middle-of-the-road political outlook, I'm rating it a square 5 of 10. I can discern fact from opinion, and I can make up my own mind when facts are presented to me... but this movie only presents the facts that support D'Souza's opinions which is again, only a very small part of a much bigger picture. I was less entertained or informed than I was annoyed, feeling like D'Souza underestimated my intelligence as the viewer.