Battle in Seattle (DVD, 2009)

Features Acotrs: Charlize Theron, Michelle Rodriguez,Ray Liotta, Martin Henderson, Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Carpenter,Connie Nielsen,Rade Serbedzija & Andre Benjamin.
Running Time:100 Min.
Rating:R


It’s November 29, 1999 and a group of nonviolent activists (led by Martin Henderson, Michelle Rodriguez, André Benjamin and Jennifer Carpenter) has taken to the streets of Seattle for a peaceful protest of the World Trade Organization’s biannual Ministerial Conference. The city’s mayor (Ray Liotta) knows about the planned protests, and in an attempt to save face, openly supports their right to free speech as long they don’t break any laws. The protestors comply, but when a small group of anarchists begins destroying city property, the mayor has no choice but to call in the National Guard. Meanwhile, police officers (Woody Harrelson and Channing Tatum) are ordered to disperse the groups using tear gas, but when that fails to drive away the crowds, they're forced to resort to more violent behavior.
Weaved into the main story are subplots involving characters that have been directly affected by the riots – like a pregnant woman (Charlize Theron) injured on her way home from work; a TV anchor (Connie Nielsen) enticed into joining the protest; and an AIDS researcher (Rade Serbedzija) whose potentially world-changing presentation is delayed – but none of their stories is as compelling (or as well-developed) as that of the activists. Martin Henderson and Michelle Rodriguez’s characters, in particular, are probably the most interesting of the bunch, since they’re involved in just about every major event throughout the course of the protest. The opening scene – where they're suspended from a dock crane hundreds of feet in the air so that they can hang a protest banner – may feel out of place in the otherwise grounded events that follow, but it’s exactly the kind of setpiece that Townsend needs to hook the audience – and it does just that.

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I rated this movie as excellent! I was a Seattle resident/worker/activist in 1999 smack in the middle of the WTO (World Trade Organziation) Conference. As an animal rights activist, this movie brought back vivid memories of the intense "battle" between "us" (anyone who cares about the world) and "them" (cops doing their job and WTO Members). I liked that they used some actual footage from the Downtown & Capital Hill areas. The calm protests that turned into chaos in a matter of hours is depicted well by quick shots into the lives of cops, government, protestors, downtown employees, and media. Im very happy that they included the details surrounding the jailing and unjust holding of hundreds of protestors, as I was one of those held. Very impressed with the way a few days of chaos were meshed in to an hour and a half. Highly Recommended!