Yes, I know that I am the last person in the known galaxy to see this movie. I put off seeing it for a bunch of reasons, one of which was that Moore's comments about how that it could turn the eleciton seemed obnoxious and pretencious. It had no apparerent effect and seen just one and half years after it was made it seems dated.
Any review of a film like this is going to be biased by the veiwer's political beliefs. Let me say now that I voted for Kerry, am a loyal partison Democrat and think that Bush is the second worst President in our nation's history, right behind James Buchanan. I cannot wait for my birthday on 2009 when someone else will be President. Even if it's another Republican, I can't imagine one worse then George W.
That said, onto the film. I agree with Moore's statement that the administration blew nearly every aspect of the Iraq war. They mislead the public about the danger and had no plan to reconstruct Iraq. I have no idea what the motive really was behind the conflict. It could have been some Wilsonian idea to transform the Middle East, or oil, or both. Maybe Little George was trying to tie up some unfinished business of daddy's. But I do not agree with Moore's implicit assumption that everything in Iraq was peachy keen before the invasion. Saddum Hussien was a tyrant, a horrible leader and the Iraqi people had no political freedom.
And implicit arguments is the problem with the movie. Moore does not really lie in the film (though there is one blantant mistatement where says Saddum never threatened America, actually, he tried to assassinate Bush's father, and in response President Clinton launched a SCUD missle into the country). He simply uses the truth selectivley. He also takes true statements and blows them out of purportion. A great deal is made from the fact of a document that the White House realeased regardign Bush's National Guard service, where the administration blacked a name. It turns out that the name was blacked out because a law prevented it's realease. The copy that Moore obtained was made before the law was passed.
And think about it- even if Bush and the guy, James R. Bath, were friends who later ran oil businesses- big deal, that was public knowledge anyway. Moore creates a conspiracy where none probably existed, and would be of little consequence if one did. Also much is made about the heavily objectionable ties between the Bush dynasty and the Saudi royal family. He is correct in pointing out that there is a major conflict of interest here, but what does this have do with Iraq? There may be a problem but the film doesn't present it, just uses creepy music to create an unsettling tone.
I am not defending Bush here. But I do think that Bush can be condemmed by simply looking what has become public knowlege. Moore never dragged up anything shocking or groundbreaking in this film. Moore's arrogence keeps getting in the way of his political argument (Hey-look at MEEEE!!!!!). The movie uneasily jumps between the very serious issues discussed and lighter comedic scenes. The mesh doesn't work.
The film is most effective towards the end, when we see the devestating impact of the death of an Iraq soldier. In the last letter he wrote to his parents before he was killed, he realized that the war was pointless and condemned Bush. The mother is shaken to the core because the tragedity is multiplied- her son is dead, and he died for absolutley nothing, and a government she trusted lied to her. The goverment does manage to remember to dock the soldier's last paycheck, sent to the parents, for the days he didn't work- "because he was dead".
Fahrenheit 9/11 might have actually had the intended effect if it was made by a more trustworthy source, in a less inflammatory manner. Or maybe not. Maybe the Americans who voted for Bush were too naive to have any film sway them. Regardless, I couldn't help but think of Frank Capra's propaganda masterpiece Why We Fight- which works because it's filmmaking zeal, like this one, but also because it is 100% true.
However, I must say that this is an entertaining movie. It's not boring, it held my interest. I reccamend it on that level. I agree with the film's ends, but not the means. And it would probably be ***1/2 if Moore would just shut the f**k up.
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)