The movie does a good job of mixing documentary footage with a compelling story. Anyone who's been to a protest, will recognize themselves in this film.

This movie helps you understand what big demonstrations are about. Activists are shown as caring about the people of the world.

The film depicts the protest in 1999, as thousands of activists arrive in Seattle, Washington in masses to protest the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999. Protesters believe the World Trade Organization contributes to widening the wealth gap between the rich and the poor, while the WTO claims to be fixing the disparity and decreasing world hunger, disease, and death. The movie takes an in-depth look at several fictional characters during those five days in 1999 as demonstrators protested the meeting of the WTO in Seattle's streets. The movie portrays conflicts between the peaceful protesters and people committing property destruction whose actions were widely covered by the media. Although the protest began peacefully with a goal of stopping the WTO talks, police began teargassing the crowd after it refused to clear the streets and the situation escalated into a full-scale riot and a State of Emergency that pitted protesters against the Seattle Police Department and the Washington National Guard. Rotten Tomatoes consensus was that the film, though "Well intentioned and passionate, this docu-drama about the 1999 WTO protests is heavier on politics than character development". New York Magazine called the film "a triumph", while Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and described it as "not quite a documentary and not quite a drama, but interesting all the same" and compared it to past political films like Medium Cool. According to EW.com, the film "sounds like a bad 온라인카지노추천 movie: a drama based on the protests that halted the 1999 World Trade Organization summit in Seattle. Yet Stuart Townsend re-creates it all with stunning passion and skill". Despite director Stuart Townsend's stated intention of portraying the events of protest accurately, the film was criticized by anarchist collective CrimethInc. for what they saw as its sensationalistic portrayal of events. In a pamphlet titled "And What About Tomorrow?", the collective allege that the protests were characterized in the film as an isolated spontaneous uprising in which a "small fringe group" of black bloc anarchists "stole the show", whereas CrimethInc. contend that "anarchists were involved in all different aspects of the protests" including nonviolent organization and Food Not Bombs, and credit the adoption of anarchist direct action tactics with the success of the uprising. A review published by Anarkismo praised the film as "clearly well-researched", citing the pacing and general narrative as quite accurate, but criticized the presentation of anarchist politics as one-dimensional and a caricature. "Battle in Seattle" is loosely based on the protest activity at the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999, but suffers from not having the look and feel of authenticity and the different characters are not fully connecting the dots to my mind. I had hopes that the city itself would play a bigger part in the scenery, but it didn´t really. Ok cast with Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Connie Nielsen, Ray Liotta etc, but you don´t really believe in their characters. They´re just too stereotypical and vague. And the acting is not fully convincing either. "Battle in Seattle" is not a must see.

Actor/Director Stuart Townsend puts forth a project that is a reflection of his political views in a movie which despite his best efforts and a decent cast, is a monumental failure. It is about the 1999 World Trade Organization protests. I was indifferent to these protests when they happened and after watching this movie made me disgusted at those protests. People with passions running wild create chaos and those that want to do right are silenced. I hated this story. Despite such great actors like Woody Harrelson, Connie Nielsen and Stuart Townsend's girlfriend Charlize Theron. Nobody could have salvaged this mess.

Great acting. Especially from Harrelson and Liotta and plot. The execution I thought was faulty.

Average film which flattened out towards the end.

This film could have been and had the potential to be a lot more groundbreaking. Sadly it was not and if it tried to inspire people somehow, it really didn't.

Unconvincing great intentions for a worthy cause. I just wish it were to WTO what Blackfish was to Sea World.

there is no end of colonialism, the rich countries are always sucking dry the developing countries, they just change the way of doing it from time to time!

I really liked this movie, what an impossible situation that's well portrayed as we get to see all sides of the protest here. The police, the mayor, a news anchor and her cameraman, several WTO delegates, a pregnant woman caught in the middle of it all and of course the assorted protestors. An excellent ensemble cast represent all these characters and I love movies with multiple storylines that all converge. This wasn't perfect by any means but I definitely got wrapped up in the fictionalized account presented here of the 1999 protest riots at the World Trade Organization conference. My eyes were actually (sympathy) stinging from all the tear gas used as we see thousands of activists descend on Seattle Washington and witness the chaos that ensues over the next few days. Brutal. Huge cast but I would have to say Woody Harrelson & Charlize Theron's story stood out the most. I also really enjoyed Michelle Rodriguez & Martin Henderson as the activists. On a personal note this was very relatable as I was in Vancouver for the Stanley Cup riots. 9/30/14

This film, sporting an all-star cast, including Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Ray Liotta, Andre "3000" Benjamin, Michelle Rodriguez, and more, makes an earnest effort to portray the various factors at play in Seattle's Defining Moment. I was there; I worked downtown, at the time, and researched this event, after the fact. In my opinion, this film comes as close as possible in showing how and why the "Battle in Seattle," a turning point in modern history, happened.

well ummm just seen this movie 4 the 1st time n think that this is a good movie 2 watch......its got a good cast of actors/actressess throguhout this movie.....i think that charlize theron, andre benjamin, martin henderson, woody harrelson, ray liotta, play good roles/parts throughout this movie........i think that the director of this drama/adventure/action movie had done a good job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect throughout this movie.......YOU HAVE GOT TO WATCH THE END OF THE CREDITS THROUGHOUT THIS MOVIE AS SOMETHING HAPPENS AT THE END OF THE CREDITS THROUGHOUT THIS MOVIE........IN SOME SCENES THROUGHOUT THIS MOVIE IT CONTAINS STROBE LIGHTNING EFFECTS THROUGHOUT THIS MOVIE.......i think that Channing Tatum as Johnson, was good throughout this movie......its got a good soundtrack throughout this movie.......i think that this is such a really sad movie 2 watch as it is a real-life movie 2 watch......i think that this is such a really well written/acted/directed movie 2 watch its got a great cast throughout this movie...... Though the film is based on actual events, the characters are fictional. its got a good soundtrack throughout this movie.......i think that this is such a really powerful drama movie 2 watch i think that this is such a really moving drama movie 2 watch........i think that both Ray Liotta as Mayor Jim Tobin (loosely based on real-life Seattle Mayor Paul Schell), Tzi Ma as Governor (loosely based on former Washington Governor Gary Locke), were brilliant throughout this movie in there roles throughout this movie.......its got a good soundtrack throughout this movie......i think that this is such a really powerful drama movie 2 watch......its got a great cast throughout this movie i think that this is such a really sad movie 2 watch but its such a brilliant movie 2 watch with a good cast throguhout this movie.......

Moral of the story is that nothing will ever change in politics and expressing your freedom of speech comes with a hevy price, that it simply isn't worth the hassle. Inspired me to do NOTHING.

This docu-drama about the WTO riots in Seattle in 1999 is made in the same style as "Bloody Sunday", "United 93", and "Battle for Haditha": it just shows events in real time without comment. We follow everyone here from the ground up; the protest groups, the cops on the street, their commanders, city officials, a news reporter, and innocent bystanders. Maybe the scenes with the news reporter are the least fleshed out, but that's a fairly minor complaint for a movie that is very involving and entertaining and thought-provoking. Woody Harrelson and Charlize Theron are very good, as usual, and Michelle Rodriguez is perfectly cast. One of the big surprises here is Andre Benjamin, from Outkast fame, who delivers a fine supporting performance; he's irreverent but very smart. Ray Liotta is very effective as the mayor, and the film does a great job of seeing the complexities in elected officials as he struggles to please all sides; he is looking for the protesters to behave while also wanting the WTO to address important issues. This lame film sets a terribly-written fictional narrative against the backdrop of the 1999 riots in Seattle that occurred during the meeting of the World Trade Organization. Director Stuart Townsend, who is also responsible for the juvenile screenplay, concocts ridiculous and melodramatic situations out of a scenario that already had enough dramatic heft of its own without embellishment. Townsend creates a group of stock characters that includes the beleaguered Seattle mayor (Ray Liotta); a couple of protesters (Martin Henderson and Michelle Rodriquez) whom the screenplay forces into an awkward and unnecessary romance; a reporter (Connie Nielsen) who actually joins the protesters(!) after she witnesses some police brutality (I'm not making this up); and a police officer (Woody Harrelson) and his pregnant wife (Charlize Theron) whose lives are altered dramatically by the events of those few days. These actors are put into narrative situations that a 16-year-old would come up with if he were asked to jot down a bunch of scenarios that he thought would have a dramatic impact on his audience. Therefore, everything is hokey and maudlin to the extreme. The story line involving Theron, in particular, actually made me angry because of its cheap tactics. You don't get real idea of what the protesters were protesting about. Very much like the real protesters who were a mish mash of anarchists, drop-outs, ravers/party goers, manic depressives, attention seekers, show offs, chancers, and total dreamers. None of whom have any idea of reality because they cannot use logical thought processes. Anyway, Charlize Theron spends most of the movie crying in bed ignoring her husband Woody Harrleson who plays one of the riot police officers. I had high hopes for Theron when I first saw her years ago but she sure knows how to pick bad scripts and I do think her career is suffering from it. Woody (like Theron) will have been drawn to the project because of his environmental background and on paper he must have thought it would be a good move to accept the role. He, and Theron are both lucky the movie didn't finish their careers off. Ray Liotta plays the Seattle Mayor. The Mayor seems like a decent trusting guy but is essentially betrayed by the protesters rampage. Liottas performance, as well as Theron and Harrleson were mediocre at best. I don't blame them though. Clearly the director has absolutely no idea how to coax a performance from actors and if I were to hedge a bet I would say the director was personally caught up (emotionally) due to his obvious political views. Nothing wrong with putting your case forward in a movie, but you have to do it right and provoke a reaction from the audience, make them think. This completely fails to do that. The man completely forgot he was making a movie and like most extreme leftists the idea is always better than the reality. As you watch you will care nothing for any of the characters in the movie. Your constantly hoping something will happen, it never does because quite frankly very little actually happened in Seattle over those few days. A few protesters running around smashing windows will not give anyone the ammunition to make a full 90 minute movie. Its quite telling that since the movies release two years ago it only has around 40 reviews on IMDb. Just goes to show that no one, not even the protesters give a damn about this movie. They are probably to embarrassed. The favourable reviews of which there are far to many can only be from a few dreamers and those with an agenda. But seriously, pay them no attention because this is a really bad movie no matter what side of the political spectrum you come from. This movie was pretty darn bad. There were heaps of cringe-inducing lines of dialog and generally mediocre acting. To their credit, the principal actors didn't have much to work with, especially Ms. Theron. Her ability was absolutely wasted since her character spends most of her on screen time whimpering and moaning. The standout performance was from Andre, who was able to use his few good lines to create a likable character. The script was absolutely contrived and there were too many moments of incredulity. The fictionalized events that were "inserted" were hamhanded and obvious, and some downright insultingly so. There were a handful of "serious" moments that caused a laugh and too few "funny" moments that inspired one.

Passions running wild in the USA, with the leaders showing just how stupid most of them are, comes across strongly in this wild and free thinking film. Free speech is shown to be somewhat lacking as the oppression by business and government is clearly shown interfering with the right to be human. Well photographed and written with lots of arguments which are clearly entertaining. Nibbles: Rock Cakes.

Sekasin dokkaria ja elokuvaa. Ois tämän voinu paremminki tehä. Ihan hauska silti.

Heartbreaking ... the battle for justice around the world and so many who sacrifice themselves for a better earth, without results. A great movie and a great story.

It suffers from its underdeveloped characters but its political ambitions and merging of real and filmed footage elevates the film from being forgettable.

it's about bunch of people--so many people, protesting the same thing, the protest affect so many lives. got the emotion.been in a similar situation--just milder..LOL. demonstration is never a better solution. negotiation is.

As an historical document, pretty good...as a cinematic drama, not so much.