An excellent film and just that

Rating: 9/10 (11 January 2007)

I'm from the UK and I first saw this film about six years ago. Initially I was struck by it's power to persuade, I finished watching it and felt convinced President Kennedy's death was the result of a massive plot involving everyone and anyone. This I think is a testament to the quality of the film and the way in which Oliver Stone throws a mountain of evidence up into the air and then with some of the best editing I've ever seen constructs a case implicating the US government, the Cubans, the Mafia and various others in a conspiracy. Even if you don't agree with Stone I think you still have to admire the way he presents his case.
Of course this was before I began to study US history in particular, the Civil Rights Movement from Lincoln to the 1980s and Cold War between 1945 and 1975. As you can probably guess I realised Stone hadn't been entirely honest in his historical interpretations in JFK. I went on to realise that the reasons Stone puts forward as to why Kennedy was shot were not entirely accurate.
Meanwhile before I saw JFK I knew very little of the various theories that abound about what happened on Dealey Plaza in November 1963. Since then though I've read quite a lot about the assassination although I'm by no means as knowledgeable as the residents of the message boards for this film. However although I'm now sceptical regarding of Stone's version of events I still have his film to thank for encouraging me to look deeper into the case and, as is stated by X in the film, to make my own conclusions.
Also, despite the fact that I reckon JFK probably wasn't the victim of a conspiracy, I still think that JFK works superbly as political thriller of epic proportions (and I just love the way Hollywood legends stroll in and out of small roles). What's more although events on Dealey Plaza may not have played out as described in JFK the film still manages to convince me that a scenario could play out in such a fashion.
Finally whatever you think about the death of Presindent Kennedy you really need to see JFK if only because it's three hours of simply breathtaking entertainment