Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee

I have awarded 7 stars for sheer entertainment value. Despite some questions surrounding the authenticity of this documentary's sources the bottom line for me is that this movie hooked me from the start and held my interest from beginning to end. It's a disturbing look at the life of a rich man with questionable morals acting like he's king of his adopted foreign country.

Be warned, there are some disturbing scenes and topics discussed such as rape, and graphic descriptions of torture and murder. But if you can handle that I recommend this movie, I found it engrossing.

This was interesting and I think did a fairly good job of being factual. Some of the "chats" the author had was a little funny. And it started bugging me a little they kept putting up pictures of one of his bodyguards holding a scoped rifle, that is all black with a huge scope like a sniper rifle. And I'm thinking hmmmm, that is way to of a gas chamber below and it looks familiar..... Like an air rifle. So I look it up and sure enough it's a Walther 1250 Dominator air rifle. Hahaha. If they are going to put pictures up asking people look scary, they should probably vet a little better.

Frightening to see how this man could travel to a poor country and establish himself effectively as a feudal lord and apparently engage in extensive criminal activity and then walk away as if it was just a bad holiday. I think the best line in the documentary is that by a local who knew him and said "he is as crazy as bat-shit" and if you watch the documentary most people will agree. The most heart breaking portion of the documentary is the scenes with the father of the man he allegedly murdered talking about how helpless he feels seeing this guy walking around Scot-free and running for president in the US whilst his son is dead. Well worth a watch.

I'm a bit hesitant when documentary filmmakers include themselves in the film their making. But in this case filmmaker Nanette Burstein straddles that line nicely, particularly when the subject of her film won't talk to her! But McAfee does..... via email. And near the end of the film when she is able to "corner" her subject, the result is interestingly captured all on camera. Her persistence in tracking down witnesses, friends and associates is admirable and the results speak for themselves. Is John McAfee crazy? a brilliant media provocateur? A computer genius? All three? I won't spoil anything, but let me just say that the interviews with the "girlfriends" was probably one of the most shocking and disgusting things I have ever heard in my life. Let's leave it at that. In conclusion, the documentary held my interest and was well-produced.

It seems like there are many sock puppets down voting this documentary.