I saw this movie about a month ago on TV in its entirety (uncut). Having already seen "Bowling for Columbine," this movie was a thorough disappointment. As some reviewers have already noted, it seems more like a plug for his book than an honest critique of society. Beware, logical fallacies abound: I cringed when Moore attempted (in vain) to draw a connection between terrorism and unemployment ("which then leads to crime, depression, and suicide, so isn't that terrorism?" as he compares pictures of the Oklahoma City bombing to some burnt-out factory).
While I could connect with a lot of the messages (about gun control and the like) of "Bowling for Columbine," this movie feels like a topsy-turvy ride from one logical mistake to the next as Moore whisks along the viewer in an attempt to hide the shortcomings in his message. Even in one of the final scenes where Moore was dared by the CEO of Nike to bring so many hundred workers for a possible factory construction, Moore uses sly camera work to hide the fact that only 30 or so showed up, half of them not even working age. Instead, he goads several "protesters" to address the camera directly--strangely, a pan shot of the "protest" is never shown.
Part of me wishes the Nike CEO would have accepted the trip to see the Nike factories overseas so that Michael Moore could actually see these "sweatshops" he degrades all movie. Instead, Moore glances over the weak spots and instead focuses on the problems without ever enlightening the audience of possible solutions. Much more so than "Bowling for Columbine," "The Big One" feels like a classic game of smoke and mirrors.
While I could connect with a lot of the messages (about gun control and the like) of "Bowling for Columbine," this movie feels like a topsy-turvy ride from one logical mistake to the next as Moore whisks along the viewer in an attempt to hide the shortcomings in his message. Even in one of the final scenes where Moore was dared by the CEO of Nike to bring so many hundred workers for a possible factory construction, Moore uses sly camera work to hide the fact that only 30 or so showed up, half of them not even working age. Instead, he goads several "protesters" to address the camera directly--strangely, a pan shot of the "protest" is never shown.
Part of me wishes the Nike CEO would have accepted the trip to see the Nike factories overseas so that Michael Moore could actually see these "sweatshops" he degrades all movie. Instead, Moore glances over the weak spots and instead focuses on the problems without ever enlightening the audience of possible solutions. Much more so than "Bowling for Columbine," "The Big One" feels like a classic game of smoke and mirrors.