An overly long "information" movie

Rating: 7/10 (15 November 1999)

I kept wanting this movie to end. It seemed to go on forever. We saw the movie on Sunday afternoon and when we came home it was time for 60 Minutes. Then I realized how well Christopher Plumber did in imitating Mike Wallace--but it was Russell Crowe that made the movie good. The theme is better suited for a TV documentary. The entire time I was watching the movie I was wondering if and how many law suits will be filed over it. Certainly Mike Wallace was not presented in the best of lights. And the blankety-blanks at Brown & Williamson must be awfully upset over their portrayal! Even CBS was "defamed." The message is great, the nobility of man is presented well, but the movie is an overload of non-essential events which detract from the message. There were places where I actually felt bored. And yet others where I wanted to cry. However it's just not the kind of movie I generally like to see -- I want to be entertained, not informed. And this was a information movie.