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Movies / On DVD / Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?
Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?

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Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? (2008)

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Reviews Counted:97

Fresh:36

Rotten:61

Average Rating:4.9/10

Consensus: Morgan Sprulock's doc offers occasional insights but gets bogged down by the director/subject's gimmicky schtick.

Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for some strong language.

Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release:09-05-2008

Synopsis: Documentarian Morgan Spurlock rocketed to fame after daring to take on the fast food industry in the entertaining and much-lauded SUPERSIZE ME. For his follow-up, Spurlock wades back into... Documentarian Morgan Spurlock rocketed to fame after daring to take on the fast food industry in the entertaining and much-lauded SUPERSIZE ME. For his follow-up, Spurlock wades back into controversial waters, and attempts something even more dangerous than a month of eating Big Macs: he decides to hunt down the globe's foremost terrorist, Osama Bin Laden. When the film opens, Spurlock has just learned that his wife, Alex, is pregnant. Using this news as a springboard, he decides he must hunt down the "world's most dangerous man" in order to guarantee the safety of his new child. Thus begins Spurlock's journey into some of the most wartorn and perilous places on the globe: Egypt, Israel, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco. Spurlock travels from country to country, popping into mosques, fundamentalist Muslim schools, shantytowns, army bases, the Gaza strip, and the local mall, asking everyone along the way if they might know where he can find Osama. The provocative question never fails to elicit an interesting response, and Spurlock uses it to open up a dialogue about the people's feelings and attitudes toward America and the war on terror. Throughout the film, Spurlock comes across as one of the most genial fellows you could ever meet, and his good-natured charm goes a long way in getting interviews with people who might otherwise become hostile when smirkingly asked, "Where's Osama?" Some viewers might find fault with Spurlock's rather gimmicky, stunt man techniques, but others might enjoy his light approach to such a complex and heavy issue. While the film will undoubtedly spark a few heated debates, one thing is for certain: Spurlock does nice job of removing some of the mystery that surrounds the Middle East. He creates a very human portrait of the people, and reminds us that, at the end of the day, we are perhaps not so different. [More]

Director: Morgan Spurlock

Director: Morgan Spurlock
Screenwriter: Jeremy Chilnick, Morgan Spurlock
Producer: Jeremy Chilnick, Stacey Offman, Morgan Spurlock
Composer: Jon Spurney
Studio: Weinstein Company

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Reviews for Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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A frustratingly soft documentary that would sooner teach the world to sing than get to the bottom of the Bin Laden enigma.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/09/08
Damon Wise
Damon Wise
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

After sitting down with lots of friendly people everywhere he goes, and a few nasty extremists, Spurlock is optimistic. He finds friendship and some real laughs, but the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks eludes him.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
01/23/08
David D'Arcy
David D'Arcy
Screen International

Entertaining documentary that subtly delivers an important message, while making some astute observations about American foreign policy.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
05/08/08
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

There is room for a tough, journalistic documentary presented by someone who really did want to know the answer. But this isn't it.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/18/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's an odd mix that feels dumbed-down, but makes its point.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
04/20/08
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Obviously, we would have heard if he'd found the guy, and obviously, no film was really going to get to that point. So it makes its point a different way and ends up explaining what it's really about, and that's fine.

Full Review Source: Can Magazine | comment 1 Comment
04/18/08
Fred Topel
Fred Topel
Can Magazine

Not just childish, smug and unfunny but a hideous affront to the 9/11 families, to whom Spurlock owes an abject apology.

Full Review Source: KyleSmithOnline.com | comment 1 Comment
04/19/08
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
KyleSmithOnline.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
10/18/08
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

It’s impossible to disagree with much of what he [Spurlock] says...but it’s also impossible to learn anything about war, terrorism, religion, oil, democracy or any of the other topics a less glib, less self-absorbed filmmaker might want to tackle.

comment Comment
04/18/08
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The trademark in Spurlock's method is humor. He establishes this early through an animated prologue that describes his impending fatherhood and then morphs into a video-game style that pits him against the evil image of Osama Bin Laden.

Full Review Source: HollywoodChicago.com | comment Comment
04/14/08
Adam Fendelman
Adam Fendelman
HollywoodChicago.com

Whatever you think of Morgan Spurlock's incisiveness when it comes to issues, there's no denying that the man has style.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
03/24/08
Amber Wilkinson
Amber Wilkinson
Eye for Film

The aim of Spurlock's mission is less a matter of actually finding the man than exploring the everyday beliefs and attitudes of Muslims around the globe.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
04/18/08
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

The Osama his film captures is similar to the one foisted upon us by the media: a 2-D villain straight from a kill 'em all video game.

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
04/17/08
Amy Nicholson
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

Morgan goes out into the big bad, wide world as the naive and innocent everyman, asking the question of the title, but actually posing more complex issues - which address the human condition.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
08/07/08
Andrew L. Urban
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile

Spurlock gooses things up with every kind of crowd-pleasing trick he can -- songs, animations, videogame representations of him fighting Osama -- and a lot of not-bad jokes.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
04/16/08
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Morgan Spurlock has crafted an entertaining, lighthearted look at the middle east.

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
06/04/08
Austin Kennedy
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine

Morgan Spurlock aims his latest docu-stunt at those who haven’t read a newspaper since the Clinton administration.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
04/17/08
Ben Kenigsberg
Ben Kenigsberg
Time Out New York

The middle hour is magnificent, as fascinating a portrait of the beleaguered region as you're likely to see outside the Travel Channel.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
04/17/08
Bill Gibron
Bill Gibron
Filmcritic.com

Remember the wise old saying about the journey being more important than the destination? Spurlock no doubt prays you do, because from the outset of his search-and-destroy gimmick, the journey is the only authentic part.

Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
04/18/08
Brandon Fibbs
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

It's impossible to take Morgan Spurlock seriously as a big-screen documentarian. Clearly he comes from the Michael Moore school of "infotainment," only without the sharp wit or, frankly, compelling subject matters.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
04/17/08
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com
 
 
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Latest News for Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?

August 25, 2008: RT on DVD: Watch Uwe Boll Box Critic, Heroes Season Two Clips
It's a good week to catch up on your favorite shows before the new TV season begins (Heroes Season Two) and a good week to satisfy your curiosity for a certain guilty pleasure... More...

July 30, 2008: Spurlock draws some weird paternal parallels, subconscious or not, between Osama as the fugitive founding father of Al Qaeda, and his own possibly wayward, pre-partum depression, stressed situation as an imminently expectant, first time fugitive dad-to-be Opens in new window
More...

May 09, 2008: RT Interview: Morgan Spurlock on the Personal, the Political and Osama bin Laden
The documentarian comes over all Kandahar as we talk his latest, Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?. More...

February 09, 2008: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

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