AshUnow
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Logan
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Cheryl
A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
jdavin-1
This movie is painful to watch. The two activists come across as petulant children railing against practically every injustice in the world that they can think of.The documentary fails to present a coherent argument. It's all over the map - in one minute they're complaining that killing chickens by beheading them isn't the most humane way to do it (but is that really true? they don't cover any alternatives) and in the next moment they're complaining that McDonald's is responsible for rain forest destruction (but they don't even say why! I guess because McDonald's uses paper? But so does every other company on earth).This film could have been better with more facts about the UK legal angle and much less anti-corporation propaganda.In trying to figure out what the concluding message of the film was, all I could come up with is that it showed what a waste of resources their case was and how pointless this all was. All it really did was feed millions of dollars to lawyers. But the fact that tying up the courts like this only benefits the lawyers is not really an interesting fact or anything new.
dkbengel
As a West Coast "California" Liberal now living in Texas, I spend a lot of time faced with anti-Liberal rants. And after watching 'McLibel' I see why most conservatives dislike my kind so much. This film was most likely meant to be educational, entertaining and more than a little political with a Loberal slant. However it just comes off as hack-kneed and reactionary. My favorite moments were the following: 1) To show how McD's was bad for us, the film makers show us a fat man walking PAST a McDonald's in London, 2) The moment when our hero said that the English Legal System was unfair because he and his associate (as the Defendants) had to actually PROVE what they were saying was true while McDonald's (as the Plaintif) could just sit there ... Um, yeah, 3) The defendant's admitted ignorance of the legal system their refusal to refer to the judge in the case as My Lord, as is traditional in England, 4) When the defendant refers to the poster of Ronald McDonald in his son's play school as McDonald's "Taking over", 5) Referring to a visit to his son's play school as "pernishes".Seriously, you would have to be brain dead to not actually laugh at the ridiculous nature of these comments. In no way is this film helping the Liberal movement in either the United States or in the U.K. In fact, is my belief that this film and the actions of it's "heros" undermine the very useful and very real work of those of us who are trying to make the world a little more fair.Coupling these things with the VERY poor film making techniques made this film a real bust for me. If I could say one thing to the film maker it would be to stop wasting your time and mine and actually HELP those of us trying to make REAL change. Trying to bring McDonald's down is a fool's errand. Of course, maybe that's all I should expect from a pack of fool's with a camera.
TheEmulator23
Now I don't adore McDonald's or even think their food is particularly good. Do I think they do things that aren't completely fair? Of course I do, but so do all sorts of companies. I think the people that refused to say sorry are two people that have WAY too much time on their hands. I like documentaries very much, but I hate it when they are completely one-sided A-LA Michael Moore! I think it is a shame about some of the practices of companies, but what these people forget is that companies aren't really out to make friends, they are out to MAKE MONEY! I think it is quite hilarious, that these people just wouldn't say sorry and get on with their lives. I am sure it is the principle of the thing, but honestly, get a life! Was this documentary good, Not really, was it even very well done, not in the least. I am sure fast food is a huge reason that people (particularly in America) are becoming more and more obese. The problem w/ blaming McDonald's is the fact that even though their food is not particularly good for you, it is the fault of all the lazy people that can't make basic foods for themselves. It's every individuals fault when they become obese then blame McDonald's for all their health problems. It is the new thing especially in the U.S. to blame EVERYONE else for their problems, which is especially sad. Does McDonald's do a lot of things that are perhaps morally wrong, absolutely! So do all sorts of companies, not just the almighty McDonald's. This documentary is all against McDonald's and not even one thing says some of the good things they do. If everyone despises McDonald's so much, then they can just stop going. Until that happens there will always be some that hate companies for whatever reason they so choose.
bob the moo
A long time ago there was a company that made lots of money by selling bits of meat between two bits of bread. Many people were employed to put the meat between the bread and many animals were killed to be the meat. A friendly clown persuaded children to love the company. Some decades passed and all was well. The company became very, very rich. Richer even than many countries. And then some people wrote in their newspapers than eating lots of the meat and bread could make people ill. Other people said on television that too many trees had been cut down and that the workers were unhappy. This made the company very angry. The company looked around the world and saw that in England there was a special law that could stop people saying things the company didn't like. And make them say sorry.It is with the above text (delivered in a Star Wars fashion) that this film starts with – pretty much immediately helping you work out if your politics and sense of humour are in the right place to be part of the target audience for this documentary. The story of the film is famous now; basically in the early 1990's McDonalds took libel cases against many people who had spoken out against them – papers, television channels, pressure groups, generally media groups and the like. Drawing retractions from the majority of them, McD's was very happy with the UK system and set about going after other targets. David Morris and Helen Steel were volunteering with Greenpeace as part of their belief in environmental activism, part of which was handing out a pamphlet "what's wrong with McDonalds" outside the outlets and telling the "truth" about the company. When they got served with a libel writ from the company, some of their group apologised and retracted but Helen and David said no and started to defend themselves against a team of very expensive lawyers retained by McD's. The film documents their case and then the action that they took in the European Court of Justice years later.Having been made over the whole ten year period (rather than looking back) the film is gripping and really involves you in the story. The case is boiled down to the essence and it is made surprisingly fluid and exciting as a result. The dramatisation of the courtroom scenes feels a bit cheap but still works – although it doesn't help that Morris, despite being natural and himself across the rest of the film, comes across as wooden and "acting" in these bits. The bias in the presentation is there of course and if you disagree with them then this isn't the film for you. However, I saw them both as rather pretentious hippy sorts but yet I was still able to get behind them, learn the lessons and be inspired by them. And really "inspiration" is the film's main strength because their story is amazing and it totally flies in the face of those who say "what difference does it make if I etc etc"; I still think that individuals are limited in day to day life but when the chips are down, if you can stand your ground it is possible to make a difference.Alongside this, the target audience will love the anti-Corporation thing. I'm not a protester or anti-Capitalist but it is satisfying to watch McD be taken down a peg – even more so now that we have spent the last year or so watch them start to lose ground, lose profits and many of the McLibel accusations be backed up over and over by many sources, to the point that most viewers will totally agree with the "lies" that Morris and Steel were telling. Ideal viewing alongside the equally important (but a lot less serious) Super Size Me, this is a great documentary that makes up for the low budget feel by being gripping, entertaining and inspiring.
