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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 date; UK critics are listed first)
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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
splat
1/5

Peter Bradshaw

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: | comment Comment | Oct., 18 2008 07:36 AM

Guardian [UK]

splat
3/5

Damon Wise

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: | comment Comment | May., 09 2008 03:15 AM

Empire Magazine

tomato
3/5

Matthew Turner

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 08 2008 03:15 AM

ViewLondon

tomato
3.5/5

Rich Cline

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 20 2008 03:43 PM

Shadows on the Wall

tomato

David D'Arcy

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: | comment Comment | Jan., 23 2008 03:15 AM

Screen International

splat

Fernando F. Croce

Makes Michael Moore look like Marcel Ophüls

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 26 2009 07:15 PM

CinePassion

N/R

Tom Meek

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 23 2009 03:16 AM

Boston Phoenix

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 18 2008 07:36 AM

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

splat

Tom Charity

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 18 2008 07:36 AM

CNN.com

splat
1/4

Jessica Reaves

Morgan Spurlock is a living, breathing cautionary tale. Take a good, long look, kids: This is what happens when society validates really annoying people.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 18 2008 07:36 AM

Chicago Tribune

tomato

Jean Lowerison

Spurlock's disarming, slightly goofy demeanor gets him out of situations that might mean trouble for anyone else. His films are always fun and even illuminating to watch.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 18 2008 07:36 AM

San Diego Metropolitan

tomato
3/5

Paul Byrnes

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 19 2008 03:15 AM

Sydney Morning Herald

tomato

MaryAnn Johanson

What makes it all work is how honest and grounded Spurlock is.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 01 2008 03:15 AM

Flick Filosopher

splat
C

Rob Humanick

Woefully small-scale, often misguided but never disingenuous.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 22 2008 08:55 PM

Projection Booth

tomato

Andrew L. Urban

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: | comment Comment | Aug., 07 2008 11:23 PM

Urban Cinefile

splat

Tim Basham

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: | comment Comment | Jul., 21 2008 03:56 PM

Paste Magazine

splat
2/4

Jim Emerson

A superficial primer for people who aren't likely to go see it in the first place.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 27 2008 03:15 AM

Chicago Sun-Times

tomato
3/4

Austin Kennedy

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 04 2008 11:39 PM

Sin Magazine

tomato
2.5/4

Peter Howell

The film does offer a glimmer of hope that behind all the bellowing by politicians and thugs, there are millions of people in the Middle East who simply yearn for peace.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 16 2008 11:53 AM

Toronto Star

splat
1/5

Kevin Williamson

Spurlock approaches the state of the Middle East -- and therefore our world -- with an asinine every-dude-ness that isn't just simple-minded but wincingly self-absorbed.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 16 2008 11:50 AM

Jam! Movies

 
 
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Latest News for Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?

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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
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