alastairswainger

Death of a President (2006)

A missed opportunity for a very worthy idea

Don't know whether I'm including spoilers or not but just in case I've ticked the box...

What looked like it was going to be an intriguing bit of extrapolation on the political situation caused by the current president's domestic and foreign policies, and the subsequent possible reactions of the worlds most self-righteous and dangerous superpower to the assassination of it's leader, unfortunately turned out to be a rather disappointing who-dunnit. Which isn't to say the film was entirely without merit. There was appropriate comment from some of the mock interviewees and placards in the crowds during the demonstration but it all seemed to be merely well observed window dressing without ever really getting stuck in to the substance. A great shame that such an apparently good, and well timed, idea should get lost in what seemed to be more a throwaway modern spin on the Kennedy assassination than to actually have the guts to deal with modern issues. Ultimately the word that sums up the whole thing is 'diappointing' and the film-makers should really kick themselves for missing such an obvious opportunity to make a much more interesting and thought provoking film than the open goal that this is as this has received more attention than it deserves for an idea that it doesn't really address. Watch JFK instead if you want a quality assassination thriller. If you want satire watch Bob Roberts, watch Wag the Dog. If you want reality watch the Corporation or Supersize Me or even a Michael Moore film but don't waste your time with this as it unfortunately manages to fall between all stools.