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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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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

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

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

With about as much documentary credibility as Borat, Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden? combines low comedy, high production values and the Middle East for what will surely be a hit, even as it delivers nothing new.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/23/08
John Anderson
John Anderson
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Spurlock is good company: a more likable, less abrasive, less manipulative Michael Moore.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
04/21/08
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

At its best, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? offers a simplistic look at a complicated problem. At its worst, it provides the same.

Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | comment Comment
07/21/08
Tim Basham
Tim Basham
Paste Magazine

Extremely entertaining.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
04/22/08
Mark Bell
Mark Bell
Film Threat

Spurlock spends so much time on himself he forgets to find anything actually worth making a movie about.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
04/17/08
Geoff Berkshire
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com

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

So shallow and silly that it makes reading The Nation seem like the deepest kind of bliss.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
04/24/08
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

No [kidding], Spurlock.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
04/20/08
Sean Burns
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly

This film finds him becoming more sentimental, perhaps because of his new domesticity, but the film is still consistently entertaining.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
09/19/08
Paul Byrnes
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald

a film that preaches to the choir. It tries to say too many things at times, but ultimately has a good message.

Full Review Source: Film School Rejects | comment Comment
04/18/08
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
Film School Rejects

Complicated global problems require something a bit more challenging than this.

Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
10/18/08
Tom Charity
Tom Charity
CNN.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Spurlock's second non-fiction effort (it rankles to label it documentary) is nothing but a boondoggle throughout the Middle East with high production values and no fresh insight.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/18/08
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Documentary humorist Morgan Spurlock explores the lighter side of international terrorism in Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden?

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
04/17/08
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Makes Michael Moore look like Marcel Ophüls

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
08/26/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

Sadly, the subject matter might not make this the kind of movie that anyone would rush out to see, but it's a successful effort at informing while entertaining.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
04/15/08
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net
 
 
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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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