WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception (2004)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Danny Schechter

Genre:

Documentary | News

Tagline:

The film that takes you Inside the Iraq media war you never saw

Plot:

There were two wars in Iraq--a military assault and a media war. The former was well-covered; the latter was not. Until now...

Plot Keywords:

Media | Wmd | Interview | Military | Pentagon

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Peter Arnett	...	Himself
George W. Bush	...	Himself
Dick Cheney	...	Himself
Maurice Hinchey	...	Himself
Nicholas Johnson	...	Himself
David Marr	...	Himself
Bill O'Reilly	...	Himself
Dan Rather	...	Himself
Tim Robbins	...	Narrator
Donald Rumsfeld	...	Himself

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Company:

Globalvision

worthwhile and informative, but not really that good a documentary

This movie tells you a lot about how the media worked hand in hand with the government to pump up the war, and does an excellent job of conveying information about how the government was able to control the media. So you have to admire it for that. But if you try and look at it objectively, not as a movie that says stuff you feel should be said but just as a movie to watch, it's not really that good. Cutesy stuff like the Apocalypse Now-themed opener really adds nothing to the movie and comes across as rather film-studentish. Danny Schechter lacks the personality that allows someone like Michael Moore to stand front and center in his films, and unlike Moor Schechter fails to create a story, but basically just throws a lot of information and talking heads at the viewer with occasional whimsical bits that don't come off that well.

The movie also has a preaching-to-the-faithful quality. While Moore (you really can't talk about a modern political documentary without comparing it with Moore's films) aims to tap into a general dissatisfaction with and distrust of power and government, thus trying to connect with people outside the left (I'm not sure if he's successful, but he does try), Schechter seems to just be handing out talking points to the left. There's good information that will help you out if you start arguing in a bar with a Republican, but there's nothing that would make a Republican bother watching this.

That's a shame, because this stuff is worth knowing, and if you are one of the faithful he's preaching you will be shocked and outraged, because it's actually even worse than you might think. But in the end it's just not much of a documentary.