Review of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008) by Bob H — 22 Dec 2009

I am an atheist. A religiously tolerant, Christmas-celebrating, Jesus-loving, liberal atheist.

So I've gotta be biased, right? Well, what would have compelled me to watch this film?

The first problem with the film is that is exceedingly dull. Michael Moor... sorry, Ben Stein, moves at blinding speed from one place to another to talk to people.

That's where the second problem comes in. The scientists he interviews don't seem to give a scientific basis for intelligent design or creation... they just say "Darwinism seems lacking in evidence to me." To make matters worse, Stein doesn't ask them to provide examples. He expects these scientists to have credibility on the fact that, well, they're scientists.

And then, oh then, when he talks about eugenics, remember? He cuts those lines out of Origin of Species to make it look like Darwin had Nazi-esque ideals? What kind of documentary filmmaking is that?

Not to mention Dawkin's portrayal... in that dark room, not being asked questions, cutting shit out to make him look bad.

It was remarkably unconvincing. Creationism is not taken seriously in the scientific community because it's not scientific. All these scientists that call foul on evolution without doing anything to support their opinion are just slowing down science.

The funny thing is these people would have cried and stomped their feet if Michael Moore did a parallel anti-intelligent design doc that was exactly the same. I guess how the facts are presented doesn't matter as long as they agree with the opinion being supported.

20% is being generous.

Oh, and just what the hell is the deal with these people on RT going "BAWWW CRITICS DIDN'T LIKE IT BECAUSE IT ATTACKED THE ANTI-GOD POSITION THAT EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE UNITED STATES BELIEVES!" Don't they know that a vast majority of the United States, France, and Britain are Christian? Most of the critics on RT probably agree with Ben Stein's position. Probably just didn't like the film.