Manufacturing Dissent (2007)

Critic Reviews

• G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

  A solid, well-done and seemingly balanced look at Moore's work, his celebrity, his methods and the ethical problems in his reporting.

• Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times

  Too bad co-writers/co-directors Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine don't investigate -- and ingratiate -- the way their target does in his own films.

• Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

  Useful but limited muckraking.

• Jessica Reaves, Chicago Tribune

  Manufacturing Dissent comes across less as an expose of a polarizing public figure than as the realization of a personal and not especially interesting grudge against a once-admired colleague who has moved on to bigger things.

• Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

  While Manufacturing Dissent provides little that is new, it does place the controversy in the larger context of the contradictory relationship between the pursuit of fame and journalistic integrity.

• John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter

  Smart, fair primer on Michael Moore's divisive career offers a couple of eye-opening moments.

• Glen Ferris, Empire Magazine

  This even-handed effort simply doesn't probe deep enough.

• Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly

  There's little to disagree with in the thumbnail portrait of Moore that emerges from this entertaining doc.

• Matthew Turner, ViewLondon

  With a wide-ranging array of interviewees and an amusingly Moore-like approach to its subject, Manufacturing Dissent is an enjoyable documentary, whether you're pro-Moore, anti-Moore or indifferent.

• Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph

  Exposes a paranoid personality, testy with his critics and bullish about his methodology.

• Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

  Moore's reputation as a brilliant polemicist takes a knock or two, here. But it's still very much upright.

• Sam Jordison, Film4

  A few serious points against Moore's credibility are overshadowed by a lot of dull posturing, unconvincing argument and unpleasant interviews. It's nothing like as good as the films made by the man it maligns.

• Laura Bushell, BBC

  The problem in making a documentary about Moore, though, is that it probably won't be as interesting as a documentary made by him, even if his techniques are used.

• Dave Calhoun, Time Out

  Some of the accusations in this documentary by a pair of Canadian filmmakers who initially set out to make a positive portrait, will make your eyes water.

• Tim Evans, Sky Movies

  The big question you have to ask yourself is: do these dishonest work practices actually undermine the message he's trying get across? The answer is probably not... because Moore is already preaching to the converted.

• Shlomo Schwartzberg, Boxoffice Magazine

  Though much of what's in the film isn't new information, seeing it all compiled in one place and building to its damning argument against Moore is effective and disturbing.

• Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

  This hugely entertaining documentary turns Michael Moore's filmmaking style back on himself to separate the facts from the rumours. It's not a hatchet job, but Moore doesn't emerge unscathed.

• Brian Gibson, Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

  Rarely acknowledges the basic transparency of Moore's films . . . only when [this doc] takes on [Moore's] work does it land its hardest blows. The disc's best special feature is a ten-minute 'Documentary Discussion.'

Read all 18 critic reviews