First Hit: Covers a lot of stuff but I think it was mostly about Presidents and people in power managing and acting poorly.
This film seemed all over the place, and I was never quite sure of the primary focus or target of this recent offering by Michael Moore. It includes some of his typical stunts, like an attempted citizen’s arrest of the Michigan Governor Rick Snyder who poisoned the people of Flint, Michigan by changing their community water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River. There was also the spraying of Flint water at the Governor’s mansion.
Much ado was made of this in the press and the outcry of the act and Governor’s inaction when poisons were discovered in the water was audible throughout the United States. One of the saddest parts of the film was when, then President Obama came to Flint and pretended to drink water to ensure that the problem was fixed. Instead of coming to help and rescue the people of Flint from an arrogant governor, he placated everyone.
Another part of the film was how Hilary lost the election to our, now, President Trump. This re-telling shares virtually no new information and only reminds us of how an election went wrong.
Then there are his hits on President Trump. There is little new shared here that helps us understand his manipulation of disenchanted, mostly white, people. The disenchanted are rich conservatives that want more money in their pocket and partially educated people who are feel disenfranchised.
The best is his explanation as to how Trump deflects by offering alternatives. For instance his admiration for people who have a lifetime rulership of their country and he laments that he would consider this if offered.
Moore does some things well in this film, like his honoring of the Stoneman Douglas high school kids that are creating change. And other things are more bombastic and overdone without pinpoint clarity of purpose.
Overall: Not one of Moore’s better films.