Dirty Wars (2013)
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 50
Fresh: 41 | Rotten: 9
Some viewers may find fault with director Jeremy Scahill's filmmaking methods, but they aren't distracting enough to keep Dirty Wars from serving as a terribly compelling argument against elements of American foreign policy.
Average Rating: 7.6/10
Critic Reviews: 20
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 5
Some viewers may find fault with director Jeremy Scahill's filmmaking methods, but they aren't distracting enough to keep Dirty Wars from serving as a terribly compelling argument against elements of American foreign policy.
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Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 1,648
Movie Info
Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill is pulled into an unexpected journey as he chases down the hidden truth behind America's expanding covert wars. (c) Official FB
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All Critics (50) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (9)
It makes you wonder - what don't we know?
Top CriticBy emphasizing the human cost of the operation, Scahill and Rowling turn "blowback" into much more than an abstract military-political term.
These wars being fought in our name may be dirty, but this courageous film reminds us that as long as we have a free press, they don't have to be secret.
Dirty Wars is essential viewing for all Americans, conservatives and liberals alike. It's intense and depressing. It'll make you angry.
Scahill is as much a liability onscreen as he is a fascinating source.
A remarkable documentary as important as it is compelling ...
... though I have certain qualms about the way Scahill is presented in the film ... I cannot imagine that a more compelling film could have been made without his character carrying this dramatic payload.
"Dirty Wars" becomes more than the sum of its facts, illuminating not just the secret wars but the emotional toll that trying to uncover them takes on Scahill.
[C]onnects how the celebrated successes and piecemeal scandals about the global war on terror fit into an alarming U.S. military policy. . [but] gets confusingly repetitive.
This is a film you skip seeing at your own risk.
My biggest problem with this movie is the choice to make Scahill the star of the show instead of the basic, disturbing facts.
Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill shine a light on the fallout from America's covert anti-terrorist attacks.
Filmmaker Richard Rowley's documentary Dirty Wars sounds the alarms, throws the lights on in the room and confronts audiences with the brutality of the conflicts in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Scahill is a brave, dogged reporter, and he deserves to flaunt his angst.
Like a lot of modern political documentaries, we've yet to see the final chapter, which is yet to be written. But it's instructive to have a little more light shed on such history in the making.
It'll open your eyes.
The first-person style is a creative choice that may put some people off. But who better to lead a tour of the denied areas than someone who has walked its dangerous streets before?
Awkward title aside, the movie meticulously and powerfully lays bare the unexpectedly wide scope of activities that many in the current administration would surely prefer kept under wraps.
With Dirty Wars, director Rick Rowley doesn't so much sugar the pill as caffeinate it.
Ultimately, Dirty Wars doesn't feel like authentic reporting, it's more of an audition reel.
Scahill's voiceover has a grim relentlessness that ties everything together, while maintaining the pretense that the viewer is at his side as he makes his discoveries.
Something we rarely see reported in major news media.
Audience Reviews for Dirty Wars
Super Reviewer
The documentary is apparently based on 2 blunders (if we believe the Afghan and the Yemeni witnesses, which as far as I can see they seem credible) from JASOC.
As terrible as wars go, the film doesn't offer an alternative where the enemy is far from clean, doesn't have an address and hides beneath civilians. It's easier to be a clean and righteous journalist than a soldier, risking your skin.
Very disappointed with the premise and the poverty of coverage. 2 cases don't condemn a country. To make a case, most Afghan women can now go to school. How do you measure that?
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