Fahrenheit 9/11

Love him or hate him — and there are a lot of people on both sides — there's no denying that Michael Moore is a skillful filmmaker.

It's debatable just how truthful, just how factual his films are, and there's no question he injects too much of himself into them. Still, his movies elicit strong reactions. You either love them or hate them. But they do make you think.

That's why "Fahrenheit 9/11," his cinematic indictment of the Bush administration and its war on terror, is so notable. There's no question that the film's stances toward American foreign policy and the current U.S. president are inflammatory. However, some of the ideas presented may give you room for pause.

As with all of Moore's films, it's far too rambling — it takes him nearly an hour to get into something other than snarky asides. But he manages to cobble together a cinematic "mosaic" of sorts, evidence that Bush-bashers will surely use come November.

"Fahrenheit 9/11" may borrow its title from a Ray Bradbury novel (his for-the-time controversial "Fahrenheit 451"), but it's largely concerned with what the Bush administration has done since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

That is, after Moore's quick digression about the purported fraud in the 2000 presidential election. From there he moves onto accusations about Bush being a "derelict" president, having — according to Moore — spent 42 percent of his first year in office on vacation.

Moore also spends considerable time investigating the Bush family's business dealings, questioning some of their dealings with the Saudis and how this may have affected U.S. policy, both before and after Sept. 11.

He gets into the meat of things in the film's final third, which deals with soldiers serving in Iraq. (He also questions how soldiers are recruited.)

Surely the film's most engrossing moments come when Moore interviews Lila Lipscomb, a resident of his hometown, Flint, Mich. Lipscomb already sent one daughter to Operation Desert Storm and has sent her son off to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

It's in these scenes that Moore knocks off all his trademark cheekiness and lets someone else do the talking. It's when he's most effective.

"Fahrenheit 9/11" is rated R for newsreel footage of war violence (including shootings and missile attacks), occasional use of strong sexual profanity, graphic gore, crude sexual talk, sexual slang terms and drug content (marijuana use and references). Running time: 122 minutes.

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