Al Gore Talks His Way to a Poor Review (An Inconvenient Truth (DVD))

Name: dan_the_turbanat

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Product:	An Inconvenient Truth (DVD)
Date:	22/07/08 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Thought provoking, will learn alot about graphs and spreadsheets

Disadvantages: You may never want to go near Microsoft Excel again, tad boring

If ever there was a man able to dethrone George Bush armed with only a mouth and the world's population of graphs, then Al Gore is probably the man to do it. 'I'm Al Gore. I used to be the next president of the United States' clearly states where the rambling will eventually end up- right on the White House lawn. But is this lecture turned documentary enough to convince everyone that the world is in terrible danger?

Plot? What plot? Unlike some documentaries that try to sway our mind, but do have a story to follow (Super-Size Me for example), An Inconvenient Truth is essentially one of Al Gore's lectures, put onto film, with a few clips 'tacked on' to break up the never ending flow of graphs. Some just don't seem to fit with the nature of the film, for example, the clip of Al Gore losing the 2000 American elections. Although he does explain why it's important to his passion for global warming (unfortunately I wasn't convinced), its obvious the real reason for this clip is to have a 'sly dig' at Bush's Republican Party. So, for one thing, the plot is not going to inspire you to recycle more.
There are however some truly inspired moments in this documentary, but they just seemed to get bogged down in all the scientific jargon. After, we are going to the cinema, not an auditorium. Humour plays a small part in Gore's fight, with cartoons displaying simple-to-follow explanations of global warming, and stories that poke fun of the intellect of the American education system. Unfortunately, despite its best efforts to appeal to a wider audience, only scientists will be able to sit comfortably throughout the films running time. Some parts of the lecture have the American audience in stitches, but alas, the English may not respond the same way in what effectively is American 'cheese' at its very worst.

It does however provoke your thoughts, something that the film wants you to do. Some of the facts and figures do make sense and probably will make you act. But, this is the films major downfall. It tries hard to make the message stick, throwing graph after graph into the viewers already slightly confused mind. But, the fact is it's about as entertaining as picking your toenails. Humour occurs very rarely, which is a shame as it seems to keep the otherwise clunky story going. Al Gore's voice does start to become tiresome toward the end, with only images of previous blockbusters seeming to provoke you into action. The problem with this lecture is that it strays into the crosshairs of Roland Emmerich's 'Day After Tomorrow'. When he talks about his personal battle against global warming etc. an image of Jake Gyllenhaal and Dennis Quaid running through a snow-stricken New York City strolls into my mind. Immediately, all I'm thinking about is hurricanes in Los Angeles, and then I think, wouldn't it have been so much more interesting and enjoyable to have some of these scenes in Al Gore's lecture? Because despite all of his graphic displays and heart tugging memoirs (hint of sarcasm) Gore very rarely explains what the consequences of global warming might be. With the clips of 'Day After Tomorrow', not only would it have solved my boredom problem, but perhaps given us a truthful (if slightly over the top) insight into nature's wrath at being over polluted. Maybe Gore didn't want people to think that global warming was some source that Hollywood was milking. But 'Day After Tomorrow' does a far better job of instilling the global warming message into my mind compared to Gore's Tennessee-accented ramblings.
There's no doubt that this film will probably be shown in schools worldwide, as it is rather educational. But don't expect the kids to take it in, nor don't bother dragging them to the cinema if you're feeling guilty at leaving all your lights on. I highly doubt many kids will be setting up their own 'Save the Planet' clubs purely on the basis of this film. Adult's might be a little more 'enchanted', but personally, it's not something that I'll be going to see over and over again. Thought provoking yes, but in film terms, a bit short of the mark.

Summary: Depends if you want to watch a film or a powerpoint presentation