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03/20/09
Battle in Seattle (2008)
52 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 54
Fresh: 28
Rotten:26
Average Rating: 5.7/10
Consensus: Well intentioned and passionate, this docu-drama about the 1999 WTO protests draws stronger political assertions than it does strong characters.
Theatrical Release:Sep 19, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $120,313
Synopsis: Actor Stuart Townsend (HEAD IN THE CLOUDS) makes an accomplished writing and directing debut with BATTLE IN SEATTLE, a fictionalized account of the 1999 World Trade Organization (WTO) meetings and... [More]
Starring: Charlize Theron, Martin Henderson, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Rodriguez
Director: Stuart Townsend
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Reviews for Battle in Seattle
Actor-turned-filmmaker Stuart Townsend would have been better off keeping things on a more modest scale. There are just too many characters here.
12/04/08
This is a powerful, wrenching and impressive writing and directing debut for the talented actor, definitely now a triple showbiz threat.
11/20/08
It sheds much needed light on a mostly forgotten event in our country's history.
11/06/08
What I think the movie failed to do was the thing it had to do most, which was explain what is the WTO and why in Stuart Townshend’s opinion, is it bad.
11/06/08
Townsend's efforts to be honest to the spirit of the event carry the film through its sloganeering and familiar backstage dramas.
10/18/08
If current events hold, Battle in Seattle could look like prophecy as well as history.
10/17/08
Top CriticThe issue deserves a better sounding board than this.
10/17/08
There is a monster in Battle in Seattle, but it never speaks and remains mysterious.
10/17/08
Top CriticActor-turned writer-director Stuart Townsend makes great use of the documentary footage of the '99 Seattle WTO riots. And he gets across his talking points about this shadowy outfit, too. It's a shame his script and all his actor friends get in the way.
10/16/08
Very ambitious, the story constantly jumps back and forth, trying to give both sides of the story. I'll say it's mostly successful.
10/08/08
Braiding brief snippets of these automatically suspenseful storylines with archival video footage of the actual event, Townsend makes a good point that the thing just got away from all involved.
10/02/08
Most inspiring in its throwaway moments, the flick mistakenly thinks we give a damn about an irritating romance when it would be better served by facts, outrage, and complexity.
09/30/08
It's the next best thing to being there, in that it's likely to make shuddering viewers intensely glad that they weren't.
09/26/08
It's easy to see why Townsend was attracted to this inherently dramatic situation, but the characters he's put on screen feel less like real people than like entities created to either make plot points or stand in for specific positions.
09/26/08
Top CriticThe film’s default position is to always fall back on anti-capitalist rhetoric whenever dialogue and drama grow too banal.
09/26/08
One strength is Barry Ackroyd's handheld-camera work, which deftly tracks the action but still captures the disorientation of those engulfed by the mayhem.
09/26/08
Top CriticThe chief culprits are Townsend's TV-movie characterizations and a very muddled message.
09/26/08
Top CriticSorely missing is a feeling of immediacy or urgency, undercut by bad dialogue and eye-rolling coincidence.
09/25/08
The result is not quite a documentary and not quite a drama, but interesting all the same.
09/25/08
Top CriticLatest News for Battle in Seattle
March 21, 2009:
In the continued acceleration of doc and drama cross-breeding, the movie is adept at fleshing out opposing points of view leading to a city under siege, but setting the stage for a tad too impartial percolating political passions. 
More...
March 21, 2009:
In the continued acceleration of doc and drama cross-breeding, the movie is adept at fleshing out opposing points of view leading to a city under siege, but setting the stage for a tad too impartial percolating political passions.
More...
September 18, 2008:
Critics Consensus: Lakeview Terrace Isn't Sturdy; Igor Lacks Brains
This week at the movies, we've got an angry cop (Lakeview Terrace, starring Samuel L. Jackson); a disgruntled hunchback (the CGI Igor with voice work by John Cusack and Molly... More...
September 16, 2008:
Exclusive Clips: Charlize Theron in Battle in Seattle
Watch Charlize Theron in two exclusive clips from Battle in Seattle, a fictional retelling of the five tumultuous days in 1999 when thousands of protesters stormed the streets... More...
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