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Movies / On DVD / Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

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Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008)

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Reviews Counted: 41

Fresh: 4

Rotten:37

Average Rating: 2.9/10

Consensus: Full of patronizing, poorly structured arguments, Expelled is a cynical political stunt in the guise of a documentary.

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Synopsis: Though Ben Stein is perhaps most famous for his sleep-inducing drone in FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF or for his eponymous game show, he is also a highly regarded New York Times columnist and was a... Though Ben Stein is perhaps most famous for his sleep-inducing drone in FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF or for his eponymous game show, he is also a highly regarded New York Times columnist and was a speechwriter for both Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford during their presidencies. For EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED, he needs all his powers of persuasion as he calls attention to the plight of exiled scientists and professors. In this documentary, Stein travels the world and speaks to men and women who have lost their jobs and their standings in the scientific world because of their association with intelligent design. EXPELLED uses the Berlin Wall as a metaphor and asserts that these people have been unjustly ousted, merely for speaking their minds. It carefully explains the differences between creationism and intelligent design and demonstrates that the latter is a belief held by people of all deity-based faiths, not just Christianity. It also devotes time to the connections between Darwinism and Hitler's regime. The film's climax features Stein going head-to-head with Richard Dawkins, a renowned atheist and author of the bestseller THE GOD DELUSION. Obviously, neither man budges in his firmly held beliefs, but it's fascinating to watch a debate between two undeniably intelligent men, regardless of whose side you're on. EXPELLED doesn't spend most of its time debating intelligent design and evolution. Instead it focuses largely on how the debate itself and its proponents have been ignored or pushed out of classrooms and academia. Filmmaker Nathan Frankowski inserts both original animations and clips of famous films (including PLANET OF THE APES and THE WIZARD OF OZ) to further illustrate his point. Though critics may find fault with EXPELLED for its one-sidedness, it's no more biased than any of Michael Moore's critically lauded documentaries. [More]

Starring: Richard Dawkins

Starring: Richard Dawkins

Director: Nathan Frankowski

Director: Nathan Frankowski
Screenwriter: Kevin Miller, Walt Ruloff, Ben Stein
Producer: Logan Craft, Walt Ruloff, John Sullivan
Composer: Andy Hunter, Robbie Bronnimann
Studio: Rocky Mountain Pictures

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Reviews for Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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To grant Expelled any credibility beyond the opening minutes requires nothing short of a leap of faith.

Full Review Source: Suite101.com | comment Comment
12/17/08
Rob Humanick
Suite101.com

This film is cheerfully ignorant, manipulative, slanted, cherry-picks quotations, draws unwarranted conclusions, makes outrageous juxtapositions, segues between quotes that are not about the same thing, tells bald-faced lies, etc.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 9 Comments
12/04/08
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Despite some occasionally sloppy filmmaking, I think the picture is worth a look. It raises important ideas and issues, asks important questions. No one could argue against that, right? Bueller...Bueller...Bueller...

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment 4 Comments
11/03/08
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

Like Moore, whose documentary-cum-polemical style they are clearly imitating, the makers of Expelled give their critics too much ammunition, so even if you're sympathetic to some of the ideas and the underlying argument, it is still difficult to defend.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
10/18/08
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

Ignorance may be bliss, but encouraging it, as Expelled does, ought to be a crime.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment 2 Comments
10/18/08
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

Don't expect any serious debate here about God and evolution. This documentary is like watching a paranoiac making fun of a hysteric.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment 2 Comments
06/27/08
Philip Marchand
Toronto Star

If someone believes in the Tooth Fairy, can they complain about not being taken seriously at dental school?

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
06/27/08
Jim Slotek
Jam! Movies

This film is an appallingly unscrupulous example of hack propaganda and it sucketh mightily. What's more, I didn't laugh once.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment 1 Comment
06/27/08
Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail

The movie is unpersuasive, but it's amusing...

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment 1 Comment
04/28/08
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

Embracing evolutionary theory will turn you into a close-minded, God-denying Nazi -- that's the upshot of this ludicrous propaganda piece.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment 5 Comments
04/25/08
Reece Pendleton
Chicago Reader

Might there be a way to get to God through science? It's a fascinating notion and I wish the slickly produced Expelled investigated it more thoroughly.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
04/25/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Expelled is a classic bait-and-switch, presenting itself as a plea for freedom in the scientific marketplace of ideas, while actually delivering a grossly unfair, contradictory, and ultimately repugnant attack on Darwinists.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment 6 Comments
04/24/08
Steven Hyden
AV Club

Regardless of your personal views, Expelled's heavy-handed bias (a visit to Darwin's home gets the same eerie music as a tour of Dachau) is exasperating.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
04/24/08
Adam Markovitz
Entertainment Weekly

Junk science meets even junkier filmmaking in Expelled -- a no more shameless, stupid and loathsome piece of propaganda has ever skulked its way into the theater.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment 7 Comments
04/22/08
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

works in much the same way as a Michael Moore documentary -- a raft of provocation and very little persuasion

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/22/08
Matt McKillop
Filmcritic.com

I don't say the film is crap because I disagree with it. I say it's crap because it disagrees with itself. It teems with contradictions, false dichotomies, and specious reasoning.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment 8 Comments
04/21/08
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

Manages to be flippant and darkly provocative at once.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment 18 Comments
04/21/08
Rex Roberts
Film Journal International

This documentary purporting to examine the issue of freedom of expression in the debate between the competing arguments of 'intelligent design' and Darwinism squanders the potential fascination of its topic with its simplistic, heavy-handed approach.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
04/21/08
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The prospect of a pro-Intelligent Design documentary sounded so batsh** crazy,it had to be awesome, watching intellectuals spin a story about how they're persecuted for their beliefs.Not to say I didn't give it a fair chance,but they made it really easy.

Full Review Source: Can Magazine | comment 3 Comments
04/18/08
Fred Topel
Can Magazine

The film shows that Intelligent Design should be on the table for discussion. But if you're looking for ammo to argue your Darwinist friends under the table, look elsewhere.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment 15 Comments
04/18/08
Mark Moring
Christianity Today
 
 
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