DVD
REVIEW:
Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?
08/24/08
In 2004 Morgan Spurlock’s
documentary “Super Size Me” made us think twice about the
fast food we ate particularly at McDonalds. In “Super Size
Me”, Morgan Spurlock ate all his meals including breakfast,
lunch and dinner at McDonalds for 30 straight days. His
doctor monitored his declining health. The documentary was
fascinating, but the best thing about “Super Size Me” was
that it managed to hold the audiences’ attention as it
attempted to show the results of something we’ve always
wonder about but never seen. The main problem with “Where in
the World Is Osama Bin Laden?” is that everything Morgan
does here has already been covered, all his questions
already been asked and he essentially uncovers zero new
information.
In “Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?” Morgan’s
girlfriend, Alexandra Jamieson, is pregnant. Morgan’s soon
to be born child begins to steer up anxiety about all the
dangerous of the world. Morgan decides he has to do
something about it. Determine to make the world a safer
place, he decides to find the most dangerous man on earth:
Osama Bin Laden. Morgan heads off to train and is soon
traveling the globe trying to locate the whereabouts of
Osama.
Morgan uses the premise of trying to find Osama, to answer
some of the questions with the conflict between America and
the Middle East. The problem is the Morgan doesn’t cover any
new ground here. Everything he discusses has been debated to
death before. Moreover, Morgan’s wise guy character from
“Super Size Me” is still very much in effect. The problem
here is that it seems forced. Add to this the odd special
effects that only help distract the viewer.
The only thing that could have save the movie was if Morgan
had found Osama. I think he was tempted, at the end, to
enter the tribe land in Pakistan. I rather he not had shown
us the last scene and just say he couldn’t find Osama than
what he actually did. It almost as though he quits. Overall,
for those who know little about Osama and the conflict in
the Middle East this film might actually be a good staring
point, but beware of the odd special effects and Morgan’s
anticlimactic finale.
Review
By Milton Brayson
milton@smartcine.com
VIDEO:
Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English
5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English SDH Spanish - Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Alternate Ending: Western Showdown - This
animated alternate ending shows Morgan in an old west
showdown against Osama. Morgan strips away at what has make
Osama such a menacing figure. (1:52)
Three Girls Saudi - Three Saudi women speak about
how they have much more freedom than people think. (2:37)
Martin McGuinness - A former member of the IRA
discusses the movement. (3:46)
Watergate - Morgan speaks with Mike Scheuer, the
former head of Alec Station a top secret Bin Laden unit at
the CIA.In this short sequence Morgan attempts to act.
Pretty funny stuff. (2:39)
Saad Ibrahim - Morgan speaks with Saad Ibrahim a
civil rights activist in Cairo. (1:38)
Shimon Peres - Morgan speaks with Shimon Peres about
the conflict between Israel and Palestine. (3:41)
Afghan Animation - Morgan narrates an animation of
the trials and tribulation of Afghanistan. (1:30)
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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