Atomic Jihad (2009/MVD Visual DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C- Feature: C-
Though I
give anyone the benefit of the doubt when they get political, it is hard to
take a would-be documentary like Joel Gilbert’s Atomic Jihad that tries to give us a combination history/world
religion/world politics lesson, but is really a silly anti-Obama propaganda
film that wants to panic viewers and makes extremely shallow allegations
against Obama, weak references to history (obnoxious to a point in the very
heavy-handed editing) that Obama is an appeaser and goes into overkill early
on.
To prove
this, the whole thing is already dated.
This was made before Iran’s
obnoxious Ahmadinejad was voted out of office, only to have the true powers in
the country pretend he won. Months
later, people are still protesting against the government in what they know is
a fraud resulting in daily killings, torture, riots, protests and more that has
permanently ruined the regime’s unquestionable credibility. In addition, the U.S.
has sent plenty of ships to the Gulf Coast in anticipation of the government’s collapse
and/or a desperate test of their missile technology as they do seem to want to
bomb Israel.
The true,
shallow message here is to be reactionary and bomb the country of Iran in some
Right-wing fantasy and military campaign.
With Obama in office, the most popular President among Iranians in eons,
plus the decline of the powers that be there, this is the dumbest thing anyone
could do. As a result, Atomic Jihad is a dud from beginning to
end and simply a lame propaganda film.
The 1.33
X 1 image is a mesh (and mess) of low-def video sources that look rough and
ragged throughout, making this look as cheap as anything. The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is on the monophonic
side and weak throughout, so be careful of high playback levels or audio
switching. Extras include further
“explanation” of the content and deleted scenes that are oddly not in the final
product.
- Nicholas Sheffo
