A frustratingly soft documentary that would sooner teach the world to sing than get to the bottom of the Bin Laden enigma.
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
Reviews for Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?
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.
Entertaining documentary that subtly delivers an important message, while making some astute observations about American foreign policy.
There is room for a tough, journalistic documentary presented by someone who really did want to know the answer. But this isn't it.
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.
Not just childish, smug and unfunny but a hideous affront to the 9/11 families, to whom Spurlock owes an abject apology.
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.
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.
Whatever you think of Morgan Spurlock's incisiveness when it comes to issues, there's no denying that the man has style.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Morgan Spurlock has crafted an entertaining, lighthearted look at the middle east.
Morgan Spurlock aims his latest docu-stunt at those who haven’t read a newspaper since the Clinton administration.
The middle hour is magnificent, as fascinating a portrait of the beleaguered region as you're likely to see outside the Travel Channel.
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.
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.
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