Kill the Messenger

_Kill the Messenger_ is a film that tells the true story of journalist Gary Webb and presents a complex web of conspiracies and corruption. The way it unfolds keeps you engaged throughout and Jeremy Renner does a good job portraying the character's passion and determination. The supporting cast is also a highlight with Garcia, Liotta and Patrick coming through as usual. Overall, a good movie based on an intriguing true story that is worth a watch.

Politics and Journalism. Two areas that will never able to work well. Politicians swear that everything they do is for the sake of people. Journalists claim that they have an obligation to inform us about all the relevant aspects of the society in which we live in.

Kill the Messenger is an intense film about an important piece of history of the United States that ended up falling by the wayside. Based on the true story of journalist Gary Webb (Jeremy Renner) who made a shocking discovery in the mid 90's. Webb discovered that the CIA was involved in the importation of large quantities of drugs into the United States, which were sold in huge quantities into American ghettos, raising money for "Contras", rebel groups in Nicaragua and received financial and military support from the USA, during the administration of Ronald Reagan. Pressed not to continue with the investigation of this case, Webb decides to continue searching for all the facts and becomes a target to beat.

Jeremy Renner has a very solid performance, carrying the central character throughout the film very well, transmiting every emotion truthfully. Some good names are part of the supporting cast, names like Rosemarie DeWitt, Mary Elizabeth Winstead or Oliver Platt among others, but unfortunately they don't have the opportunity to shine, definitely with good performances, but without much relevance.

It is quite obvious that the idea of the film would honor the presistente work of this journalist and his tragic end, the result of having delivered himself into a case that everyone involved was trying to cover up. The journalistic and criminal part of this story is quite well built and manages to be totally interesting making the audience searching to find out more and more like Webb with the course of the story, but when it is added the side of the family drama that the journalist begins to live (also a consequence of the work which he was involved) is that when things do not result in the best way. We are definitely interested in knowing what the next step of the research is and the suspense is suddenly broken with too much family drama involving personal things of Webb's marriage, as betrayals of the past, things that are totally unnecessary for what the film intends to pass.

Kill the Messenger turns out to be successful when it leaves in the air that feeling of "conspiracy theory" a side that Americans hate to show, but ultimately fail when the tension is broken with unnecessary elements.

With its commendable technical aspects and the important subject it deals with, Kill The Messenger is definitely a film worth seeing.

Anchored by a great performance from Renner, the film's storyline following an investigative journalist is intriguing, though reminiscent of films like All The President's Men in it's depiction of Renner's quest to uncover government corruption. However, the film takes a darker turn in the second half of the film as Renner's character is forced to defend his writing. With a barrage of great actors lending their support, it's surprising the film did not garner more attention. It could be argued the film is completely one-sided, with the film following it's central protagonist throughout, never once questioning the legitimacy of his investigation. Equally, the film is directed ably by Cuesta, but the staging of revelatory scenes don't hit home the way they should and the film takes little time to dwell on the twists and turns of what is an important story. But then, perhaps the most shocking thing about the film is not only that it has a ring of truth about it, but how unsurprising to a modern audience the revelations and suggestions the film puts forward are, whatever the truth of the matter.

Scénario bien travailler mais le reste n est pas vraiment au top

It isn´t a bad movie but without reading much of the plot I thought it to be a polit thriller about the smuggling by the C.I.A. Instead it is a drama about the journalist who discovered it. This is not so much negativ criticism it is an observation.

Kill the massenger