Critic Reviews
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Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
A film that stands out for its passion, ambition and clarion-call sincerity, even amid the contemporary onslaught of political documentaries.
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, Time Out
Extremely timely and urgently relevant.
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Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic
The fact is, Jon Stewart on The Daily Show uncovers this same hypocrisy every night, and does it in two minutes with irony and humor, while Why We Fight attempts it with outrage and scolding.
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Michael Booth, Denver Post
Eugene Jarecki's Why We Fight takes on enough subjects to make five great documentaries, but as a result is so scattered that it doesn't quite make for one good one.
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Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
It's impossible to imagine anyone, right-leaning or left, coming away from this hugely important documentary unshaken by its representation of the United States and its military establishment.
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Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
More leftist propaganda masquerading as documentary.
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Brandon Fibbs, BrandonFibbs.com
Why We Fight is a shell-shock of a film.
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Prairie Miller, WBAI Web Radio
Yes, this or that argument makes sense, but where do we go from here? That critical question in such wrong-headed documentaries is inevitably fraught with limitations, settling for moral abstractions instead of inspiring social change.
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Prairie Miller, WBAI Web Radio
While this misleading doc lauds neo-conquistador Eisenhower for coining and anticipating the military industrial complex, let's not forget how he propagated something else - the CIA extra-legal tactic of target assassinations.
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Jason Gorber, Film Scouts
The film may find a niche and raise interest from those of both sides of the political spectrum.
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Kam Williams, Upstage Magazine
U.S. imperialism exposed as a categorical imperative by this damning documentary about the Military Industrial Complex.
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Kam Williams, BlackFilm.com
U.S. imperialism exposed as a categorical imperative by this damning documentary about the Military Industrial Complex.
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Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
Finally, the real reason we're stuck in Iraq.
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Keith Phipps, AV Club
Ultimately, Why We Fight reveals itself as yet another leftie doc with an anti-war agenda. But the mere fact that it takes time to ask questions and listen to opposing viewpoints sets it apart from the pack.
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Stuart Klawans, The Nation
How does all this disparate material fit together? Uneasily.
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Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
DVD extras add to the experience of the movie without simply eating your spare time
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James Plath, Movie Metropolis
Yes, the deck is stacked, but the converts that Jarecki presents are pretty convincing.
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James Plath, Reel.com
Despite its slant and sagging spots, this isn't a film you're likely to forget.
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
The film's strength is that it isn't hesitant to name names on either end of the political spectrum
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Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review
Is he preaching to the choir? Yes, but they'll find it beautiful music.
Read all 21 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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A documentary-by-numbers, in a sense, and about the Iraq War mostly, but I found this to be as much about Eisenhower than anything else, which was great, because I didn't know as much about him and his meaning when he famously coined the term Military-Industrial Complex.
I liked… More
A documentary-by-numbers, in a sense, and about the Iraq War mostly, but I found this to be as much about Eisenhower than anything else, which was great, because I didn't know as much about him and his meaning when he famously coined the term Military-Industrial Complex.
I liked this documentary because it was as damning as a Michael Moore film and much less sentimental, and the message was stronger because of it. There are situations that just make you throw your hands in the air, and the Iraq War is certainly one of them. Worthy of its accolades, no question.
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Good documentary with some great moments of emotional power, but it doesn't say all that much new about the current state of the USA that hasn't already been discussed in superior films.
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[font=Century Gothic]"Why We Fight" is an informative but flawed documentary, that despite providing a comprehensive history lesson through talking heads, participants and archival footage, does not make a very good case. It starts off with Dwight Eisenhower's 1961… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Why We Fight" is an informative but flawed documentary, that despite providing a comprehensive history lesson through talking heads, participants and archival footage, does not make a very good case. It starts off with Dwight Eisenhower's 1961 farewell address where he explains the menace of the Military Industrial Complex.(It is curious that the film praises Eisenhower's presidency in many ways but two of the most infamous Cold War foreign interventions - Iran and Guatemala - happened on his watch.) The central thesis of the movie is how that has corrupted American foreign policy but I would argue that the weapons makers are simply a group of bottom feeders and war profiteers who have no direct affect on foreign policy. Instead, the government's self-righteous attitude leads the United States into perpetual conflict, first with the Soviet Union and now moving onto Iran and North Korea. In fact, the invasion of Iraq was nothing more than a cynical exploitation of post 9/11 blood lust, waged by an administration looking for an easy win to heighten its popularity, with little congressional opposition due to a lack of backbone, not corruption. And it is ironic that one of the reasons for the invasion was to stop terrorism, when instead it seems to be the cause of the opposite. [/font]
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Half of the documentary is about the mishandling of the Iraq war, and the other is a attempted in-depth analysis of the terrifying alliance between the Department of Defense and Private Military Contractors. I understand that the two are related, but the way its put together here is a… More
Half of the documentary is about the mishandling of the Iraq war, and the other is a attempted in-depth analysis of the terrifying alliance between the Department of Defense and Private Military Contractors. I understand that the two are related, but the way its put together here is a bit scattered.
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Why We Fight is described in the links section of Billhicks.com as "probably in Bill's iPod on Arcturus". I doubt that it is. Whereas Bill's comedy was loud, angry, and deliberately controversial, this documentary about the military-industrial complex is… More
Why We Fight is described in the links section of Billhicks.com as "probably in Bill's iPod on Arcturus". I doubt that it is. Whereas Bill's comedy was loud, angry, and deliberately controversial, this documentary about the military-industrial complex is pedestrian and gentle. The target audience is clearly those that know little about the role of the military-industrial complex in the U.S. government. To its credit, it well-made and addresses its target audience without patronising. Unfortunately, it offers little to the well-informed viewer.
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I gained great respect for John McCain after seeing this film. Powerful, and another film most Americans should see, especially since some of the most scathing indictments of war come not from the liberal Left, but from the conservative right.
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This is a doc that needs to be seen, it will make alittle more sense afterwards.
Read all 7 featured audience ratings
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