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One of my all time favorites.

Admirable film.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

I worked in the Georgetown area of Seattle during the WTO riots. This movie was hard for me to watch. It is sympathetic to the "protesters", which to this day, I don't understand. I don't know what they were protesting? Why did they have to vandalize personal property of those they don't even know? It's not the first time this has happened here.The rioters attacked my city unprovoked, yet this movie focuses on the plight of the so-called protesters. Woody Harrelson's character was portrayed as a crazy cop, hell bent on killing every protester in sight. Then he is seen apologizing to the lead protester in jail. The mayor is a milquetoast who doesn't have a clue (okay, that part is true). In one scene where the rioters are being booked into jail, a woman says, "Who's going to get us out?" Well, they should have thought about that before they started a street war. I'm glad the police beat the crap out of them.Other than the twisted point of view and editorial license, the acting is marginal at best. There is no chemistry between Woody and Charlize Theron. Disgusting, GenX "I Win" movie for thugs and wannabes.

Some people on here say it was fictional characters used for legal reasons. That is B.S. They used fictional characters to make a fictional movie. They made it seem that a Officer's wife attacked by police was real. They made it look like the violence was committed by undercover police officer's. They made it look like an Officer can't call out sick. In all honesty an Officer can call out sick no matter what is happening. This film is shot completely as a pro activist standpoint, not a true standpoint. The shameful situation is some people are too dumb to realize this is a work of fiction. You should be ashamed.

People panned this on the grounds that it was too much of an entertainment or drama piece. There _was_ that element in this movie, that given the introduction, was obviously made with the goal of promoting critical evaluation of the WTO and the resulting 'G'meetings and that's hardly a bad thing; it's not as though this movie was meant to benefit hard core anarchists (or rusted on far-right wing nuts). In any case, the drama and depiction of emotions helped to complement the film. It did a great job in portraying the myriad of the forgotten dynamics that exist in these protests- most humans involved in these situations in real life have all kinds of dramas going on, which massively colour their perspective, relation and reaction to these events- the cops, the protesters, the politicians, the journalists, the bystanders and the myriad of lobbyists all come from a variety of backgrounds and have different values and motivations; be they noble, malevolent, ignorant, informed, reserved, reactive, robotic, rebellious or downright confused; they all have their backgrounds, baggage and loved ones and it's all in flux. Excellent cross section of demographics and their interactions with good acting to boot. Superb casting and utterly convincing acting all round with Andre Benjamin (aka Andre 3000 from Outkast) a revelation. Without being minutely detailed, it was informative and allows for a broad observation of a massive chain of events that demand further consideration. Highly watchable and given the historical context and the seriousness subject matter, not very sentimental or romanticised at all, nor cynical. If this movie doesn't make you want to get off your ass and do something positive in the world, you have serious problems. Loved it.

One has to applaud the interest in making a movie of something like the riots in Seattle in 1999. A hodgepodge of protest movements, environmentalists, anti-global trade people, anarchists, third-world trade protesters, and the list goes on.The makers of this obviously have a point of view, and that is of course, very sympathetic to the protesters (or whatever the term might be). Though, here and there, they seem to show some even handedness.I'm sure all know that basic story: The WTO, a world trade organization attempting to liberalize trade among nations around the world in order to raise all living standards (or so they claim). They seek to meet in Seattle to discuss the next steps in "global trade." Problem is, there are a lot of folks who really don't like the idea, not at all. So, as in the very first scene -- Democracy and the WTO are not at one with each other.The makers obviously favor the protesters, of course, but give some sympathy for the police and politicians of Seattle who are trying to preserve some sort of comity and sanity while an international meeting takes place in their city. You can tell they want the prestige of such a meeting, and want to keep a blow up from happening.They didn't get their wish.There are some mawkish and foolish subplots littered around here and there, fictionalized of course, but the central point is not badly done: Protesting in this day and age, in a time of plenty, for those who are protesting in the name of those who are in poverty.This is not a spoiler in the least, but anyone who has eyes and cable network TV knows, these protests, and the ones that followed, and will follow even form now, have achieved and will achieve nothing. Knowing that, gives a strange flavor to the movie -- that all they are doing, means nothing.No matter how much the Hollywood folks would like to think otherwise, and probably would, if they knew how much it would impact their pocket books.