Just so...so bad

An action-packed slog

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World (2016) *** (out of 4)Werner Herzog is one of the greatest filmmakers out there and I love his documentaries but I must admit that this one here was a bit uneven to say the least. Basically this documentary talks about a dozen different subjects that are all connected to the internet. We get subjects including how the internet was founded, the lack of security, the dark side of the technology and we also meet some famous hackers.LO AND BEHOLD, REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD is a film that's certainly worth watching but I must say that there's way too much that is covered. There are about a dozen different subjects that are discussed and I think all of them would have been interesting enough for their own film. When you put everything into one picture you're basically left with a bunch of mildly interesting and uneven short films.Just as an example, the history about the discovering of the internet and how it was done is covered in about ten-minutes. I'm sure there are many great stories dealing with these men, their offices and how the breakthroughs were done yet we don't get to hear too many details. Another example comes with "the dark side" and we meet a family whose daughter was decapitated in a car wreck and soon afterwards her lifeless body was online and the photo was being shared.Several of the stories here would have made for a great feature- length documentary. As it stands, some of the subjects are interesting but they're handled so quickly that you can't help but not fully feel entertained or informed.

Herzog is a character, a clown, and it's hard not to love him. The moments where he peeks out (voice only) in this film are the absolute highlights. But it's important to remember with Herzog's films that they are often more than just documentaries, and I don't believe for a second that Herzog feels any obligation to present anything factual. He's interested in concept and perspectives, but not necessarily a photo realistic portrayal of the world. This is why I would argue that Herzog's films are more essays than documentaries. As long as you remember this, you will have a good time watching this movie.Herzog approaches the internet as if he is a stranger to it, leading to some very naive questions to the highly educated people he is interviewing. They are made to answer different questions than they are used to, and this leads to different answers. You can see Elon Musk being pulled out of his element by Herzog volunteering to go to mars.Herzog has a gift of finding the peculiar in people and situations. I am a bit worried that some of the people he is interviewing is not aware of how he will present them. I'm sure Herzog does it with love, but it's still obvious that he pick moments in the interviews where they are at their most goofy.When it comes to the subject itself, and it's interesting (though disjointed) exploration of the future of the internet and the connected world, but like any essay, it doesn't really answer any questions.

Let's put it this way, I NEVER write reviews about movies/films I watch. However, I had no other choice but to get on here and compliment how amazing this documentary is. I was really depressed yesterday throughout my entire day at work, and just couldn't shake the feeling until I randomly found this on Netflix and decided to watch it. I only turned it on because I needed something to watch for the 10 minutes or so of eating dinner. I ended up watching the entire documentary (about 1.5 hours long) and was left in complete awe. Not only that, I couldn't even get back on my PS4 or play any video games for the rest of the night because of this film. It truly makes you think about things that you've probably never thought about before. I've watched hundreds of documentaries over the years and this is by far the most fascinating documentary I have ever watched. I recommend this film for the ENTIRE WORLD!You won't be disappointed.

There are very important, tough questions that need to be asked about where technology is leading us. "Does the internet dream of itself?" is not one of them. This effort from Herzog is a major disappointment but not a surprise, partly because it started out as a corporate promotional video. Also because most of his docs are ostensibly on subjects that aren't that interesting or important on the surface, but he makes them riveting. Here, he's tackling a subject about which everything that can be said, has already been said, except for the hard questions. Is the internet even a net positive thing? Why bother going to Mars? It's getting harder and harder "to make a contribution" (to science, or to society), so what does that mean for us? Soon enough robots will beat Messi at football -- will anyone want to watch that? These questions don't get asked. And these are easy ones that came up anyway. Herzog, who is a known non-tech guy, just seems ignorant and uninterested in technology, both the good and the bad of it. And we need him to pry forcefully into the moral morass that it's dragging us into. But he can't. He's just a baby boomer who is completely immersed in his real- world occupation that doesn't involve surfing the internet. He doesn't know, doesn't care. So unfortunately, he has gathered the most maddeningly thick-headed "scientific experts" to make bland, vapid observations about how amazing it all is. This is a huge disappointment. Werner is just not the man for this job -- so he's moved on to something more up his alley; volcanoes...