DVD Review: "Death of a President" (2007)

First, this movie is not an infomercial suggesting the President of the United States should be taken out, like many red-staters in the blogosphere and elsewhere have implied. While it is a tad sympathetic to the civil libertarian crowd, it also throws the Angry Left under the bus, so this is nothing like the silliness we've come to expect from the likes of the frothing-at-the-mouth, don't-let-the-facts-get-in-the-way-of-a-good-story Michael Moore-esque crowd. It's also much more substantial than the Jon Stewart level of political analysis, which I liken to current affairs commentary for people who don't read books.

Instead, this is a gripping, investigative "documentary" set six months into the future after President Bush gets gunned down in the lobby of a Chicago hotel. The ensuing fall out deals with the professionalism of the Secret Service, Muslim-Americans, disaffected Iraq veterans, and the fallibility of American justice. Nothing wrong with that. "Death of a President" doesn't take you on a guilt-trip for being a proud Westerner, nor does it hit you over the head and preach from the rarified air of the moral high ground - rather, the viewer is challenged with whispering subtlety to examine their own assumptions about America via this novel, thought-provoking and superb presentation.

CSI for politicos.

Overall rating: 8.5/10