Bowling for Columbine: Review By moviegeek

Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine is a masterpiece from start to finish. Every single screenshot in this movie works, every question asked is piercing to just what we were wondering, every piece of music is perfectly laid either in sympathy or irony, and every piece of presented material is amazingly gripping and intensely shocking. This is a perfect doc*mentary.

The doc*mentary follows Moore as he seeks to investigate the trouble with guns in America. In both the legality and availability of firearms, Moore ties this with the Columbine massacre and other related incidents.

One thing I absolutely love about this doc*mentary is how it first attacks the problem and then shows us the result. Yes, on a focused scale, this is a movie about the Columbine massacre. But it is a while into the movie before Moore attacks that event. He first presents the issue of arms availability and murderous use in the country.

One of the points he presents is that out of all of the countries in the world, the United States leads others in number of gun killings annually. While the highest towers at 300-400 a year, the United States tromps all with over 11,000 deaths. This is a shocking reality, but it becomes even worse when we realize that the Canadians have just as many guns as we do, but suffer under 100 deaths per year as a result of them.

That is an example of how this film builds. We see shocking facts presented, but then that is topped by something even more mind-blowing. It all leads up to an eye-opening interview with a certain person (who I won't give away) that packs a punch into the movie.

There are so many elements in this movie that are seamlessly blended to make a grander point. Take for example a clip of footage from a Chris Rock stand-up concert, or the animated interlude about the history of our country, or a conversation with the creators of South Park. It all, seemingly impossibly, comes together beautifully.

Some of the footage presented is hard to watch. There is actual footage from these shootings and current war clips that just make this all the more real. But it presents this all seamlessly. I was moved almost to tears in a few scenes.

But there is the emotional content, and there is the satirical content. I was laughing quite hard throughout this movie at various points. It's always at the right times. It's always at the right things. It's never inappropriate or off-color.

I can't stress to you the impact this doc*mentary makes. I recommend this to any and everyone. Know that it will get into your mind and challenge what you have previously thought. Know that it makes a very blatant one-sided argument (but that, of course, is what doc*mentaries are called to do). Know that this is a perfect example of a film that means something.

Bowling for Columbine is a movie that isn't here to entertain, it's here to inform. Even though some of the material may not be quite as current as when it first came out, this is powerfully made and resonates as such still today.

There are two types of movies I give four stars (or in this website's grade scale, 5 stars) to. The ones I genuinely appreciate (i.e. Closer, which due to the larger range of stars gets 4.5) and there are the ones that truly impress me on not just a critical level, but on a personal level. Such is Bowling for Columbine.

This film has an R-rating for violent images and language. Why, I don't know. Teenagers should watch this movie. Why the MPAA can't see that is beyond me. See this amazing, one-of-a-kind doc*mentary.