Fantastic!

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I was excited to learn a bit more about what motivates groups like the ELF, but only learned about one kids predicament. Daniel was difficult to relate to, and simply put, comes across as brat who didn't peak until he met a bunch of outcasts, and I'm not sure if going to prison is the best type of "making it" one should aspire to. As someone who is passionate about this cause, I really wanted to find something redeeming in this organization, but alas, I walked away from the film the same way I feel about groups like PETA and The Discovery Network. More so, I left not knowing what the objective of the ELF really is, instead just watched a film on a group of young brainwashed kids who act first and worry about consequences later. And when consequences do come, they complain about the harsh sentences (granted it is a bit harsh, but what again, research first before you do something you KNOW is illegal.) I didn't walk away from the film feeling sympathetic to the plight of these members nor do I feel like I got a "behind the scenes look" at the ELF. (Unless of course the ELF is comprised of self-righteous mid- thirty-year-old who still don't understand the concept of crime and punishment.) Perhaps the description should be updated as the whole film was really about Daniel and not so much about their mission of the ELF. Good soundtrack though.

There's a show on the National Geographic Channel called "Locked Up Abroad" about people who have no real goals in life and because of short-sighted acts of criminality wind up imprisoned in foreign lands.The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) members depicted here seem like stateside equivalents of these naive and myopic drifters. Taking up arms against Oregon lumber mills seems to give them a raison d'etre and a way to belong -- and consequences to the victims or themselves be damned.This film spotlights the case of Daniel McGowan, the rather desultory, 20-something son of a New York City cop who finds a calling with the ELF, which opposes things like old-growth lumbering and genetic engineering and takes to burning down some of the places it believes take part in such activities. While it surely seems wrong for the wood industry to harvest thousand-year-old timber, when a tree is felled, six more must be planted, as one trade representative explains. However, none of the activists is ever asked to comment about that, which seems one of the few glaring omissions in this largely balanced documentary. McGowan comes across as an easy-going, principled young man with an unfortunate tendency to overlook the consequences of his actions until they're splashed across TV screens on the evening news. All too belatedly, he realizes that when you torch someone else's property, all people will focus on is the mayhem you have wrought -- your lofty ideals get lost in the rubble.It's hard on McGowan's laconic father and his sympathetic and self-sacrificing sister when he finally cops a plea -- like nearly all of his fellow compatriots in crime -- although in contrast to many, McGowan declines to rat out any peer. This lands him a seven-year sentence in an Illinois prison for terrorists.The film lavishes too much time on the question of whether felons like McGowan should be considered terrorists if they scrupulously have avoided injuring or killing people. Yet, as one US official points out, you don't have to be Bonnie and Clyde to be a bank robber, nor Osama bin Laden to be a terrorist. So quiet-spoken McGowan will carry the label of terrorist for the rest of his days. This thought-provoking work is an effective argument against emotion-driven mischief-making. If you want to make a change in a democracy you'd better do so without destroying your opponents' stuff -- the Boston Tea Party notwithstanding.

If you go back in history and read about real heroes you can get a clear idea about what exactly is wrong with our society today.. Greek heroes during the Greek rebellion in 1821 opted for torture and death upon their arrest instead of surrendering key information to the Ottomans. Mexican Commander Antonio López de Santa Anna when he got arrested after the battle of San Jacinto begged for his life and signed the Treaties of Velasco, in which he agreed to withdraw his troops from Texan soil and, in exchange for safe conduct back to Mexico, lobby there for recognition of the new republic (which led to the independence of the state of Texas. And what about activists you might ask? Well this movie will tell you a lot about their courage, determination, perseverance and a whole bunch of life skills they claim to carry..

Great documentary showing the people who are willing to fight back against the corporations that are not only willing to destroy and pillage mother nature for profit but are happy to do so. Do I agree with their tactics? No, but am I happy there is now a new extreme fighting back against the other extreme? Yes. For too long corporations have done what they please without caring for anything but the money lining their pockets. This documentary shows the people who where willing to stand up and say enough is enough. Peaceful protests just fell on deaf ears and ended with pepper spray to the eyes and testicles. These guys had enough, they knew for a fact that their protests where not going to change anything so they had to turn it up notch. Corporations would not listen to their cries and simply didn't care so ELF decided to hit them in the only place they care about, their pockets. This documentary follows the story of one of these protesters who decided to fight back and stand up for what he thought was right. Should these people be considered terrorists? No, they should be considered arsonists. If the government defines these people as terrorists then what name should be given to the corporations who drove these people to take these actions? Again I do not condone the actions of these people but they are the lesser of two evils in this situation.