With no military experience, knowledge or expertise, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock sets off to do what the CIA, FBI and countless bounty hunters have failed to do: find the world's most wanted man. Why take on such a seemingly impossible mission? Simple--he wants to make the world safe for his soon to be born child. But, before he finds Osama bin Laden, he first needs to learn where he came from, what makes him tick, and most importantly, what exactly created bin Laden to begin with. Following bin
Laden's trail through some of the most dangerous places in the world, Spurlock encounters both the rational and the radical faces of the Middle East. He interviews many people who embrace him on the streets and welcome him into their homes, often gaining impressions that sharply contrast with the conventional media images of the region. Spurlock finds they're not that different from American families, sharing the same hopes and fears for their children that he has for his own.
Morgan Spurlock is a living, breathing cautionary tale. Take a good, long look, kids: This is what happens when society validates really annoying people.
The film does offer a glimmer of hope that behind all the bellowing by politicians and thugs, there are millions of people in the Middle East who simply yearn for peace.
Where in the world is Morgan Spurlock's head? Occasionally, during this exasperating and goofy documentary, it seems squarely on his shoulders. Most of the time, however, it's firmly lodged up another part of his anatomy.
In his first film since Super Size Me, Spurlock tells you virtually nothing you didn't already know -- and, what's more, he does it with catchy videogame graphics and faux-naive man-on-the-street interviews that make Michael Moore look like Chet Huntley.
Shrinks the world situation to fit the mood of America and gets away with it. Candy-coated reality? Yankee vanity? Maybe so. But the sunniness is welcome.
Spurlock's disarming, slightly goofy demeanor gets him out of situations that might mean trouble for anyone else. His films are always fun and even illuminating to watch.
Morgan goes out into the big bad, wide world as the naive and innocent everyman, asking the question of the title, but actually posing more complex issues - which address the human condition.
Not as good as SUPER SIZE ME, but Spurlock does a good job at least trying to hunt down "OBL", as he refers to bin Laden in this film. Unfortunately, it's a waste of time to watch the film today, since "OBL" is dead.
June 14, 2011
Alexander Diminiano
Super Reviewer
I have no comment! I also have absolutely no idea why I give it 3 stars, because this movie is very funny, but the plot is... well, I don't even know if it is fresh! This is soo weird!
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