Battle in Seattle
The Whole World is Watching
In November of 1999, Seattle broke into a full-scale state of emergency as thousands of peaceful protestors gathered in resistance to the World Trade Organization. The city’s mayor, a SWAT cop on the streets and his pregnant wife, and four demonstrators are caught in the crossfire as their lives intersect in the ensuing riots. Stuart Townsend, in his debut writing and directing role, seamlessly merges actual footage of the devastating chaos with brilliant performances.
Member Reviews
Really, people are giving it good reviews? - sjdavidson
Where do I start.... I guess the most obvious place would be the terrible acting. No one is good. Charlize Theron tried, but you could tell she was alone out there, desperately trying to make something out of nothing. This makes me believe the problem isn't the acting, but the direction/writing. Which makes sense since this is the same "brilliant" mind who brought us The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Queen of the Damned.
The whole thing is just so corny. It's one cheesy line after another. Kinda wanted to barf at some points.
It's also incredibly racist. I KNOW IT'S EASY TO SAY SOMEONE/SOMETHING YOU DON'T LIKE IS RACIST AND GIVE SOME BULLSHIT JUSTIFICATION FOR YOUR ACCUSATION. I SWEAR THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M DOING, JUST KEEP READING. The governor of Washington State at the time was Gary Locke, who is Chinese-American. He was born and raised in Seattle, is a true blue American, and DOES NOT speak with a Chinese accent. Youtube one of his speeches if you don't believe me. For some reason, however, the director felt it necessary to turn him into the crazy guy from The Hangover. Give the bad guy a foreign accent? Really, it is the 80s?
Also, I live in Vancouver and I always find it funny when movies set in Seattle are filmed here, like we can't tell the difference. Normally it doesn't bother me so much, but when I read other reviewers saying how great the juxtaposition is between real footage and the movie, I must protest. Although, this is coming from a local, so if you haven't spent a lot of time in either city, it might be hard to tell the difference.
Overall a bad movie. I ended up having to watch it in two parts. The first time, I was watching with my ex-boyfriend (who is from Washington State) and he was so put off, that we had to stop watching about a third of the way through.Intense Drama With Good Performances - 0930tracey
This "inspired by true events" movie got off to a slow start, but picked up with force. Some scenes were quite intense (Charlize Theron's heartbreaking scene comes to mind) that made me wince and look away. I was torn between the protestors and the cops, trying to see both sides. It's a good movie to discuss and disect. Worth a watch.Definitely a battle! - anwallette
This movie is a great juxtaposition between actual footage and the story of 8 people whose lives come together over the span of 3 days.
These 8 people are all on different sides of the WTO conference. Each brings with them a different set of values, views and consequences to their reaction to the conference.
Their lives will never be the same and their mark will be left on Seattle forever.
Member Reviews
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Really, people are giving it good reviews? - sjdavidson
Where do I start.... I guess the most obvious place would be the terrible acting. No one is good. Charlize Theron tried, but you could tell she was alone out there, desperately trying to make something out of nothing. This makes me believe the problem isn't ...Intense Drama With Good Performances - 0930tracey
This "inspired by true events" movie got off to a slow start, but picked up with force. Some scenes were quite intense (Charlize Theron's heartbreaking scene comes to mind) that made me wince and look away. I was torn between the protestors and the cops, trying ...Definitely a battle! - anwallette
This movie is a great juxtaposition between actual footage and the story of 8 people whose lives come together over the span of 3 days.
These 8 people are all on different sides of the WTO conference. Each brings with them a different set of values, ...