Reviews

It's an important story that is told well. The acting of the main character is tremendous and a pleasure to watch. Unfortunately, I didn't know that the subject of this 'based-on-fact' drama had been suckered into promoting the Leveson inquiry, so the last half an hour also promotes it. I wouldn't have watched if I'd known. It was a nasty surprise that made me feel as suckered as the subject.

Sadly the subject didn't know he was being exploited in this way. A truer, and more interesting rendering of his story would have touched on that exploitation.

The result was that a good and well meaning cast and crew ended up serving as propaganda for the Leveson inquiry, which is a powerful attempt to control the press, and therefore limit free speech, when unfettered free speech is possibly at it's most needed in history. Bravo for the acting. Shame for the propaganda.

One wonders whether this story would have been told with such quality if it wasn't for the Leveson inquiry needing the retrospective PR. My overall 2 rating reflects a 10 for the acting, and 0 for the rest. Propaganda should not ever be considered art. When drama becomes propaganda, it should be reviewed and rated with that in mind.

The exposition was jaw-droppingly clunky. Critical moments were utterly unbelievable. Generally terribly written. Most disturbing is that the two main concepts that this movie delivered was a) that torture is not only justified but yeah bring it on, and b) the secret services or 'intelligence' agencies are noble, just, heroic and generally the good guys, whereas history and the current global situation shows us clearly the opposite. This is a cringingly obvious propaganda piece for the new world order and its torturing, murdering servants. Really there is nothing more of interest in this trashy, badly-written, clichéd rubbish. Watch it only as a student of modern history interested in propaganda.

This is a desperately poor, indulgent, cheap, empty, irritating, unwatchable concoction of clips tied together with an infantile plot and dressed up with some ethnic chanting intended to make it seem meaningful and spiritual or something.

It is the laziest piece of movie non-art I've seen in quite some time... maybe ever. Dross, crap, worthless nonsense. I feel awful after watching it. How can people get away with this?

We are required, in this commenting system, to write ten whole lines of text in order for the comment to get accepted. So, we have to find a way of elaborating on that which is without content or substance or quality. This is not easy, how far can you stretch the idea that something is simply crap?

Why should we be required to exert effort in critiquing that which involved NO EFFORT? Not only were there no original scenes filmed besides the narrator, the story had no consistency, plausibility, character, insight, or intelligence of any sort. It was like someone farting in your face and expecting you to think it was life-enhancing.