Reviewers familiar with anti-globalization protests have both praise and criticism for the film. Among the latter are concerns about accurate portrayal of protesters, although director Stuart Townsend said he chose not to take sides and that the film is a work of fiction based on real events. Bay area activist and arts organizer David Solnit worked with the director to help recreate scenes from 1999. He and others who participated in the Seattle protests had limited influence on the script. Some activists also called on people to speak up and reclaim history and to not allow the movie to tell an untrue story of the WTO demonstrations.

On a positive note, the movie has been praised by some for covering the history of criminal activity performed by the WTO and for its depiction of the effect of the demonstrations on people’s lives. Characters in the movie change through the events of November 1999. A cop resigns from his job after his wife is beaten by the Seattle police and a corporate media reporter disobeys orders and films attacks on the demonstrators by the police. Unions are shown to have power that is seldom seen on the big screen.

While some praise Townsend for portraying protesters as sympathetic characters, others criticize his glamorization of a mainstream media fictional heroine. Ironically, WTO activists gave birth to indymedia in 1999 precisely because corporate media focuses on violence and confrontation and portrays protesters negatively. Read More

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