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Movies / On DVD / Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

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Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008)

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Reviews Counted:41

Fresh:4

Rotten:37

Average Rating:2.9/10

Consensus: Full of patronizing, poorly structured arguments, Expelled is a cynical political stunt in the guise of a documentary.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for thematic material, some disturbing images and brief smoking.

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release:2008-04

Box Office: $7,499,617

Synopsis: Though Ben Stein is perhaps most famous for his sleep-inducing drone in FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF or for his eponymous game show, he is also a highly regarded New York Times columnist and was a... Though Ben Stein is perhaps most famous for his sleep-inducing drone in FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF or for his eponymous game show, he is also a highly regarded New York Times columnist and was a speechwriter for both Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford during their presidencies. For EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED, he needs all his powers of persuasion as he calls attention to the plight of exiled scientists and professors. In this documentary, Stein travels the world and speaks to men and women who have lost their jobs and their standings in the scientific world because of their association with intelligent design. EXPELLED uses the Berlin Wall as a metaphor and asserts that these people have been unjustly ousted, merely for speaking their minds. It carefully explains the differences between creationism and intelligent design and demonstrates that the latter is a belief held by people of all deity-based faiths, not just Christianity. It also devotes time to the connections between Darwinism and Hitler's regime. The film's climax features Stein going head-to-head with Richard Dawkins, a renowned atheist and author of the bestseller THE GOD DELUSION. Obviously, neither man budges in his firmly held beliefs, but it's fascinating to watch a debate between two undeniably intelligent men, regardless of whose side you're on. EXPELLED doesn't spend most of its time debating intelligent design and evolution. Instead it focuses largely on how the debate itself and its proponents have been ignored or pushed out of classrooms and academia. Filmmaker Nathan Frankowski inserts both original animations and clips of famous films (including PLANET OF THE APES and THE WIZARD OF OZ) to further illustrate his point. Though critics may find fault with EXPELLED for its one-sidedness, it's no more biased than any of Michael Moore's critically lauded documentaries. [More]

Starring: Richard Dawkins

Starring: Richard Dawkins

Director: Nathan Frankowski

Director: Nathan Frankowski
Screenwriter: Kevin Miller, Walt Ruloff, Ben Stein
Producer: Logan Craft, Walt Ruloff, John Sullivan
Composer: Andy Hunter, Robbie Bronnimann
Studio: Rocky Mountain Pictures

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Release:

Oct 21, 2008

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Reviews for Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

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The movie itself is an example of design by faith and emotion rather than intelligence, defined as rationality grounded in proof.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 18 Comments
04/18/08
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Manages to be flippant and darkly provocative at once.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment 18 Comments
04/21/08
Rex Roberts
Rex Roberts
Film Journal International

[I]n a saner universe... you could scoff at Stein and dismiss him and not give this propagandistic nonsense another thought. But... [y]ou need to see this movie because these people are not going away...

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment 16 Comments
04/16/08
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

The film shows that Intelligent Design should be on the table for discussion. But if you're looking for ammo to argue your Darwinist friends under the table, look elsewhere.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment 15 Comments
04/18/08
Mark Moring
Mark Moring
Christianity Today

This film is cheerfully ignorant, manipulative, slanted, cherry-picks quotations, draws unwarranted conclusions, makes outrageous juxtapositions, segues between quotes that are not about the same thing, tells bald-faced lies, etc.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 14 Comments
12/04/08
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The filmmakers' intentions are kept deliberately vague but it's a surprisingly entertaining and informative doc that at least tries to address the debate over 'intelligent design' from another angle.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment 11 Comments
04/16/08
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

One of the sleaziest documentaries to arrive in a very long time, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is a conspiracy-theory rant masquerading as investigative inquiry.

comment 10 Comments
04/18/08
Jeannette Catsoulis
Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The man made famous by Ferris Bueller, however, quickly wades into waters far too deep for him.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment 9 Comments
04/15/08
Jeffrey Kluger
Jeffrey Kluger
TIME Magazine

It shows us bogus security files, as if some cabal is spying on everyone. It shirks the facts. And it madly edits images to equate Darwin with Hitler, and Ben Stein with -- yes -- Ronald Reagan. Typical of all propaganda, it also distorts language.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment 9 Comments
04/18/08
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Expelled is a classic bait-and-switch, presenting itself as a plea for freedom in the scientific marketplace of ideas, while actually delivering a grossly unfair, contradictory, and ultimately repugnant attack on Darwinists.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment 9 Comments
04/24/08
Steven Hyden
Steven Hyden
AV Club

This is propaganda, a political rant disguised as a serious commentary on stifled freedom of inquiry.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment 8 Comments
04/18/08
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today

I don't say the film is crap because I disagree with it. I say it's crap because it disagrees with itself. It teems with contradictions, false dichotomies, and specious reasoning.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment 8 Comments
04/21/08
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Junk science meets even junkier filmmaking in Expelled -- a no more shameless, stupid and loathsome piece of propaganda has ever skulked its way into the theater.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment 8 Comments
04/22/08
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

For a film about American freedom of expression and the necessity for open dialogue, it's hard to imagine Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed being more one-sided, narrow-minded, and intellectually dishonest.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment 8 Comments
04/16/08
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Slant Magazine

A cynical attempt to sucker Christian conservatives into thinking they're losing the 'intelligent design' debate because of academic 'prejudice.'

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment 8 Comments
04/16/08
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

Despite some occasionally sloppy filmmaking, I think the picture is worth a look. It raises important ideas and issues, asks important questions. No one could argue against that, right? Bueller...Bueller...Bueller...

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment 7 Comments
11/03/08
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

Surely the film's greatest offense is the utter shamelessness with which it exploits the Holocaust.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment 6 Comments
04/18/08
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Embracing evolutionary theory will turn you into a close-minded, God-denying Nazi -- that's the upshot of this ludicrous propaganda piece.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 5 Comments
04/25/08
Reece Pendleton
Reece Pendleton
Chicago Reader

The film's flippant approach undermines the seriousness of its discourse, trading less in facts than in emotional appeals.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 4 Comments
04/14/08
Justin Chang
Justin Chang
Variety

Either the filmmakers suckered these [pro-Darwinist] participants under false pretenses, or the evolutionists are more open to debate than Stein suggests.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment 4 Comments
04/18/08
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune
 
 
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