Against All Enemies

At times, a bit repetitive and wordy, but overall engaging. News hounds who've been watching stories about Jan. 6th since, well... Jan. 6th, won't find a lot of new information here. What is new, is some insight into the history of Christian Right Nationalism in America, how it never really went away, and how (and why) American veterans are getting sucked into violent groups. What I found most surprising, is that the U. S. has no laws that allow these groups, or their members to be prosecuted as terrorists. There are plenty of knowledgeable people (on both sides) interviewed for this film, (including former & present members), and it gives an even-handed look at the problem of extremism. Most importantly, it exposes the important fact, that extremism isn't a "middle east" problem, it's a human problem, and there are American extremists in-country that are just as dangerous as those we fear from outside. Maybe even scarier, because some of them are our neighbors.

The reason I gave Against all enemies a 10 is because this documentary was to be made available March 29 2024 on Apple TV but Apple TV says it no longer available or you tube so what gives is it available or not available it's almost like they don't want you to watch this documentary it must be that good and a solid 10 if you can find it anywhere so if anybody who reads this review let me know where I can purchase this documentary unless it is not available in Canada which I think is a shame and being restricted from watching this important documentary on extremism in the united states solid 9.

Bazurin somehow makes a direct line between infiltration of the movements by the "three letter" agencies and the assumption that the official narrative MUST therefore be tainted, and that the Capitol Hill events were "obviously" not what they had been "portrayed" to be. Those assumptions are thin thin thin...

a) in general, potentially dangerous groups are infiltrated - whether by law enforcement or a "three letter agency" - for surveillance purposes (which can certainly be condemned). That does not equate to them DIRECTING operations of those groups.

B) contrary to revisionist history, Capitol Hill events have not been "portrayed" as worse than they were by "three letter" agencies. We ALL saw the horrifying violence in real time, and we've ALL heard the unvarnished pride and intentionality the participants felt in their actions, through their own selfie movies and social media posts.

Nice try. Really disapointed by this, however. Although it may scare some in a good way, the documentary gave way too much air time to white supremacists without discrediting their beliefs with facts. It almost serves as an Internet favorites list for radicals.

One thing is for sure: listening radicals expressing their views and opinions without equally powerful counterarguments doesn't help. Any fool without critical thinking abilities could simply fall for the white supremacists' arguments.

I'm scared of how MAGA and their supporters will react if they win the next election; even more so if they lose. That's as long as there is an election.

This film shows how US white nationalist groups target veteran / experienced soldiers and police as the best material to absorb their conspiracy theories and provide muscle on the ground. Remember the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers assaulting the Capitol? This is how it happens; how those militias are built.

The film discusses how these veterans are especially easy prey because not much is done to ease their transistion back into civilian life, and they may already have a grudge against "the powers that be" for having been sent into action.

It also discusses how there are very few laws designed to deal with such militias or domestic terrorism in general.

As interviewer, Sadoff speaks not only with a variety of experts, politicians, and critics, but also a couple of out-and-proud extremists eg. Randy Ireland and Eric Braden, founder of the Southern Patriot Council. These parts are scary because these people completely believe the lies told about the 2020 election.

The photography is adequate and the editing is very good, making it easy to watch despite being a little long.

Very worthwhile.