Rating: 
Summary: Thought provoking
Review: Michael Moore has done an excellent job at asking questions nobody in the press seems interested in pursuing. In this documentary, he asks why Americans kill one another at a rate far greater than other countries? What's amazing is how Moore gives some of the characters space to speak their minds and they succeed in almost hanging themselves. A spokesman for Lockheed who's standing in front of an ICBM sees the Columbine massacre as a "microcosm" for whats going on in the world. Charleton Heston comes across as a pitiful person who seems to lack basic common knowledge. The material is engaging and real. I can't understand why this would get an R rating except to keep teenagers from seeing something worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: Mandatory Viewing for ALL American Citizens
Review: "...we have a lot more mixing of ethnicity in this country..." What?!?! So, apparently Charleton Heston is a bigot as well as a gun fanatic. I loved watching Moore completely undress Heston during the final interview, not only was it a triumphant moment in cinema but a slap in the face to all of the rednecked, gun-toting maniacs in this country. Bowling for Columbine is the shot in the arm that this country needed to start a sensible plan for gun control. The statistics Moore cites are staggering and eye-opening. Aside from bitter disdain for the NRA, Moore (a lifetime member), takes a look at the gun issue from almost every perspective. The most powerful being the victims of the Columbine shooting. Moore also interviews such celebs as Matt Stone, Dick Clark (what a cold-hearted man) and Marilyn Manson. The path to Heston becomes all the more logical as the film progresses and the ultimate payoff is more than satisfying. Also, the insensitivity of the NRA is incredible. Just a few days after the Columbine massacre the NRA had the gall to stage a pro-gun rally in Littleton. This was no mistake...these people are sick and our Government needs to stand up and take notice. The stuff about Lockhead Martin is really scary as well, but all of these pieces fit perfectly into the puzzle of greed, manipulation and intimidation that this country is making famous. After seeing this film, I was truly ashamed to be an American. Powerful stuff...Highest Recommendation.
Rating: 
Summary: An Over-the-top Critique of the American Character
Review: Many viewers react to this film as if it were 'anti-gun', but this is not really the case. Actually the director, one-time "Mother Jones" editor Michael Moore, is arguing that Americans are violent and paranoid, and that large numbers of violent deaths annually are therefore inevitable. A key claim expressed in the film is that other countries with similar laws and equivalent numbers of 'guns' per citizen have lower levels of gun-related deaths. This is not an 'anti-gun' argument! Moore is in fact asserting that manipulative, media-conveyed and government-abetted violent imagery and social stereotypes are responsible for paranoia and violence in the U.S. Moore may be described as a populist Progressive, and his fundamental idea is that "they," the "vast right-wing conspiracy" of government, powerful capitalists, and conservative media, are to blame for everything that is wrong in the United States. His argument is really an emotional one and the movie is at its most entertaining when he is 'letting himself go,' attacking those he believes are to blame for the ills of the country (and the world!) The 'facts' he uses to support his case are invariably half-truths and distortions, however, and fair-minded viewers are unlikely to be swayed by his arguments, however much they may sympathize with his feelings. It seems unlikely to me that this film will be anything but another brick in the wall of an already polarized debate (diatribe?) Moore's work that I have seen tends to have a deep undercurrent of bitter mean-spiritedness, but in "Roger & Me," at least, this was balanced by a desire to portray himself as "one of the guys," a 'regular joe' baffled by what he seemed to suggest was more casual unfairness than intentional evil. This film gives us Moore the Righteous Crusader, Wiser and more Honest than his Evil and Foolish opponents. He is RIGHT, and they are WRONG. Alas, the movie itself is too plainly manipulative and dishonest to be an argument against manipulativeness and dishonesty, leaving us with the image of Moore the Angry Old Crank, raging at people who disagree with him, while vaguely mumbling about 'the good old days.' However he is raging and mumbling all the way to the bank...
Rating:
Summary: A powerful political statement in the "style" of a doc
Review: Let me start off by saying that BFC is not a Documentary, its one man's opinion about gun violence in America. Moore uses numerous events like Ruby Ridge and Columbine to ask "are we nuts for guns or are we gun nuts". Moore interviews many people who all quote the second amendment (The right to bear arms), Here's a little secret, The reason that amendment was put up so we could build up a effecient militia quickly. Does it honestly apply today? I'm in no fear of my life. There has been allegations saying that Lockheed Martin only makes sattelites, WRONG!. They make guidance systems for nuclear missles. I found out by going to their website. I'll believe that the Littleton Lockheed Martin plant doesn't make missles, but that doesn't make it any sunnier for them. If you look at this movie from different political sides, of course you're gonna react if you are conservative and enjoy it if you are liberal. All these reviews are coming from either gun pro or non pro, Moore is credible in this fact because he is neither. I give it a 5 because its a neutral political statement about one of our worst problems.
Rating:
Summary: Enlightening and informative
Review: "Bowling For Columbine" wonderfully explores the reality of the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms. Michael Moore asks, "what causes violence if it's not the guns?" He proves that there is no certain answer. His outspokenness and his deep information deserves the honor as the highest grossing documentary in movie history and the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Three celebrities: Charlton Heston, Dick Clark, and Marilyn Manson are featured. Charlton Heston is the president of NRL (National Rifle Association). Moore argues the appropriateness of Heston speaking in a pro-gun rally ten days after the Columbine school shooting and again ten days after a six-year old girl was shoot in a Michigan school by a peer classmate. Dick Clark's short scene in the documentary expressed his inconsideration toward the slain girl. Moore approaches his van asking for an interview. Moore revealed that her mom is forced to work 70 hours per week in a welfare job sponsered by Clark. Clark's reaction is shocking! Marilyn Manson is the only featured celebrity who speaks brilliantly. Manson reveals his reaction toward being blamed for inspiring Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold to shoot 12 students and a teacher in their school. He shares what actions he's take if he could meet the two troubled kids. Moore asks "are we safe in our houses?" He travels to Canada and parts of the US interviewing random citizens about their beliefs. They answer what often happens to those who don't lock their doors. However, the opposite is expressed while he asks, "why are we always scared?" An LAPD shockingly reveals why no one is arrested for creating pollution, which is more dangerous than guns. An illustrated scene gives an informative brief history of American fear. "Bowling For Columbine" is an eye opening experience. It's recommended that everybody watches this at least twice. It will inspire Americans to act upon their beliefs as did Michael Moore. One never knows their capabities until they work. Parents should present this documentary to their kids as it will enlighten their future. However, there are some violent images presenting actual gun murders. Those who are disturbed by this should fast forward those scenes. "Bowling For Columbine" will stand as an American history artifact in the near future.
Rating:
Summary: Asks the important question.
Review: Forget about guns. This movie asks a simple question.
Why do so many Americans kill other Americans?
By any measure, this nation is #1 in violent crimes involving any kind of weapon: gun, knife, baseball bat.
Politicians and the NRA just want to throw more people in jail, but even with a larger percentage of our population in jail than any other industrialized nation, the violence continues.
Michael Moore asks why. Maybe in his next movie he'll come up with an answer.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining & Funny, Yes, But is is True?
Review: Reviewing "Bowling for Columbine" is difficult from an objective standpoint, as almost all of the reviews here prove. They range from praise that some would save for, say, the Dali Lama, to the kind of active hate I usually save for child killers. The reason is not so much the "documentary", but the man who made it: Michael Moore. Moore is a polarizing figure, he has his ardent followers and he has his angry detractors, and no one in the middle. One liberal reviewer in the Washington DC City Paper called Moore the man "who gives Liberal Muckraking a bad name" So if the review sounds biased, I apologize in advance. "Bowling for Columbine" is a stunningly effective piece of propaganda. Superbly entertaining, very very funny, and you leave the movie asking yourself some hard questions. Unfortunately for Moore, some of those questions lead back to the truthfulness of his film. Getting the gun from the bank-staged. Footage of Charleton Heston saying "From my Cold Dead Hand" at an NRA meeting in Colorado after Coolumbine-actually much older footage of an event that took place on the East Coast. Footage of the NRA meeting in Flint after a little girl was killed by a classmate-the meeting took place almost a year after it had happened. Moore edits like crazy to make his targets look insensitive. He's a master of staging events. The most chilling part of the film is his interview with the "third bomber" from Oklahoma City. Interesting yes, and yes, there are crazy types out there, but what did it have to do with anything? Moore throws a lot of information at the viewer, possibly in a hope that no one will catch his most glaring errors. However, thinking about a lot of the film in bits leaves you with the impression that it is much less than the sum of it's parts. His bizzare questioning of the Lockheed/Martin spokesman in which he asks the man if he thinks that having a missle factory in the backyard caused Columbine. Of course, that plant manufactures rockets that send satellites into space, but that doesn't matter to Moore. He mentions the bombing of Kosovo as another possible motive for the attacks. While this makes no sense, it feeds into Moore's thesis: that we are frightened nation of Gun Nuts. The highly insulting cartoon(which, by the way folks, was NOT produced by the South Park Duo)equates owning a gun with hating African-Americans and supporting the KKK. No real connection is made, but the fact that Moore says it exists is enough for his fans, who always said as much in private and are overjoyed that a narcissitic egomaniac who shares their views said it. There are a couple of very good segments. The first is when he talks with South Park co-creator Matt Stone, who makes some very valid points about the kind of verbal abuse many teens deal with in High School. In fact, better documentaries have been made about that very subject. Moore doesn't follow through, too content to blame the Government for everything. The second point, which I actually heartily agree with, is that the media hypes violence. Moore walks through South Central LA with a sociologist and they talk about how even though violent crime has been dropping in this country, the number of news stories covering murders has increased exponentially. If it bleeds, it leads. If the film were less sensationalistic, more thoughtful commentary like this would make it in, instead of wild claims that try to link the Vietnam War to Columbine. In the end, the reason the film will probably be seen as a failure in the future is that it is all really about Moore. He is a self-promoter in the finest tradition of PT Barnum(I mean that as a compliment) From his self-serving endorsement of Ralph Nader in 2000 to his infamous Oscar speech and his plans to make a documantary blaming the entire Bush family for every crime ever committed against humanity, Moore is best at promoting himself. Countless people in the film have since come out saying they felt used by Moore, from Lockheed Martin to one of the Columbine survivors Moore took to K-Mart to get than to stop selling ammo. Moore will use any tragedy to advance his own cause-himself. He is, in the end, a charlatan and elitist posing as an everyman. His film cannot be judged without the correct view of the man who made it. You can dislike Moore and agree with his views, but I've found very few who do. Liberal or conservative. Thoughtful conservatives(those who did the actual research that dispels much of his "proof" find Moore's trashing of them insulting, and thoughful, concerned liberals, while sypathetic to some of his causes, would rather have someone willing to debate with facts and reality than the strange, upside-down stuff Moore comes up with. His film is not "truth" in any sense of the word. If you think I'm insane, check out no-spin websites that are truly nonpartisan that have the same problem. Check out LIBERAL sites that call him and his motives into question. But in the end, do what Moore wants you to do with the rest of the world to him: look deeper, and see the rotten Underbelly and black heart at the heart of this "fictitious" documentary.
Rating: 
Summary: Liberal Propiganda
Review: This is just a bunch of liberal propiganda comeing from an anti american socialist nut. Love it or leave it never rang more true.
Rating:
Summary: A first step
Review: I really liked this documentary. It tackles a very important subject, gun control, but also makes you think about the repercusion different policies have on society. Its sad, but also humorous at times. Controversial, it deals with a topic that many simply don't want to talk about. However, it is impossible to deny that Michael Moore is totally in favor of gun control... That is certainly not a bad thing, but isn't it best when the director is impartial? He doesn't balance the pros and cons of gun control: he has already made his choice before starting this documentary, and that is fairly evident. Thus, it is difficult to say that "Bowling for Columbine" allows you to understand the subject at hand completely. Michael Moore is enthusiastic, fierce, witty,impetuous and zealous in the defense of what he thinks is right, but never neutral. Nevertheless, he manages to get his point across quite well, and his ideas are valid. He makes us think and reflect, and that is the first step towards understanding an issue. If only for that, his documentary has my endorsement, and I give him 5 stars...
Rating:
Summary: Not about gun control
Review: I enjoyed the movie, but I was curious what critics thought of it. In fact, one of my favorite things to do on Amazon is read what critics have to say about media that I agree with or think I might agree with. One theme I noticed in the "1 star" reviews was that Moore advocates gun conrol in the film. Though he questions the role of gun use often, I didn't seem him as supporting gun control. It is my opinion that the real theme of the movie was that fear drives people to an obsession with guns (and military weapons) in an effort to gain security. I strongly endorse our right as Americans to bear arms, but agree with Moore that our patriotic and sometimes suspicious zeal might make guns too accessable for those who might inflict harm.
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