So much average

Overrated and overhyped

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Few figures of recent American history will be as controversial as Robert McNamara. Secretary Of Defense under both President Kennedy and President Johnson from 1961-1968, he played key roles both during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and in the lead up to and conduct of the Vietnam War during that period. McNamara, who died in 2009, was the subject of Errol Morris' 2003 documentary The Fog Of War which itself recently had its own tenth anniversary.Partly that's because of its subject matter. Largely because of the controversy around him and his long silence about his role in the Vietnam War, McNamara himself is a fascinating figure. Outside of his 1995 book In Retrospect, this may very well be the most candid McNamara ever was about his life and in particular about his time as Secretary Of Defense. Thanks to Morris' interrotron technique, McNamara often seems to be looking right into the eyes of the viewer and the vice versa is true as well. The result is that this portrait of him is given even more power, especially when he talks about helping pick out the site where JFK is buried where you can see his eyes watering or his eyes light up in the rare moments of humor. McNamara also proves he can own up (as it were) to some of the more questionable events he took part in and even downright mistakes such as the firebombing of Japanese cities in World War II and the fundamental misunderstandings that led to increasing involvement in Vietnam. Yet, for every moment like that though, there are moments where one can't quite read him, especially when he becomes increasingly guarded about Vietnam and why he didn't speak out more against it after he left government. The results are often just as haunting as they are fascinating.McNamara himself though is just part of the documentary. Morris makes extensive use of archival material with some of the most outstanding being rarely heard recording of meetings and phone calls involving McNamara and the two President's he served under, especially in comparing the conflicting attitudes to the war in Vietnam expressed first by Kennedy in late 1963 and then Johnson just months after Kennedy's assassination. There is also a wealth of rarely seen documents as well, especially from McNamara's statistical work during World War II that leads to a haunting piece of animation of his handwritten numbers becoming the bombs dropped on Japanese cities. There is also a limited amount of reenactments as well, especially to illustrate the surreal but true way that skulls were dropped down a Cornell University stairwell in tests that led Ford to install seat-belts in their vehicles. Then there's the score of Phillip Glass which gives the entire proceeding a most haunting quality it might not have had otherwise. As a result, the more artistic elements of the documentary compliment the portrait of McNamara rather nicely.The heart of the film though is in its narrative structure, which is centered around eleven lessons Morris draws from McNamara's life. It is these lessons that make the film as timely as ever in a world that continues to be in a state of continuous conflict. McNamara's life and the events he relates are merely examples from how the Cuban Missile Crisis shows us that rationale people can be lead to the edge of irrational decisions (starting a nuclear war) to how the Gulf Of Tonkin incident is a prime example of how seemingly incontrovertible evidence can be wrong and lead to unimagined consequences. While these examples might be taken from decades and crisis' of the past, are every bit as applicable today as they were both in McNamara's time and when this was first released a decade ago.Despite being about events a half century or so ago, and being a decade ago itself, it remains a film as relevant today as it ever has been. On one hand, it presents a compelling portrait of McNamara and his role in some of the most important and controversial events of the last fifty years. On the other, it blends that portrait skillfully with artistic elements that make the lessons taken from that portrait all the more compelling. The results are haunting, fascinating and well worth viewing.

After spending an hour or so with an old man, a product of a important American university, a corporate player and a major decision maker in government policy, a man probably responsible for thousands of human deaths, one wonders why more of us have not been incinerated by bombs set loose by well-meaning madmen who are able to intellectualize and justify mass carnage with few second thoughts.This is an admirable slice of film-making, and while recognizing it's importance as a document, the ideas emanating from the human centerpiece didn't exactly thrill me; mass annihilation is not a particularly salubrious topic. This is a creepy, unsettling film about a man who learns quickly but whose messianic zeal is frightening. The film questions humanity's ability to learn from past mistakes and is seldom optimistic about it.

It's been a long while since I first saw McNamara in the Fog of War, but it still rates as one of the best films I've ever seen, fiction or non-fiction.The scenes where he recounts the US bombings of Japan will always remain in my consciousness, and once you've seen the film, you'd be hard pressed not to remember them.But just as interesting was his descriptions of his time at Ford, and the use of egg cartons as inspiration for car manufacture.It also shows how great movie making can benefit from a less is more approach to shooting the subject.Truly one of the must see movies of one's movie viewing career.

Found this to be an informative look into the history of former US Secretary Of Defence, Robert McNamara. As an Australian who regards the American exercise of power to be no more sophisticated than that of Genghis Khan, the kind of admissions that McNamara makes here confirms my own views on this matter. Historical events discussed in this documentary include World War II, the Cuban missile crisis, his time in charge of the Ford Motor Company, and his role during the Vietnam war.Some of the more interesting admissions that McNamara makes in the interview are: * if the US had lost WWII, he, and many other Americans would have been tried as war criminals. This is in the context of the issue of proportionality...the US lacked this in its conflict with Japan. Over 60 Japanese cities were bombed by the US with around 50% destructive efficacy. This was even before the US used the only weapons of mass destruction worth the name...atomic bombs...killing hundreds of thousands of men, women and children in two Japanese cities. McNamara admits to being a war criminal and he claims that American General LeMay also knew that he was such. Being part of a superpower means never having to say that you are sorry...well, you can say sorry, you just don't have to face justice...ever.* the supposed attacks on the US warships "Maddox" and "Turner Joy" are also discussed. You hear some tape of the principle players discussing the 'attack'...I personally read into them that history was being fabricated at that very moment, in order to achieve a certain outcome (US involvement in Asia, against Vietnam). The supposed attack led to The Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which got America what it what sought...war (by any other name).* President Johnson's oversight of the Vietnam war is also discussed. Listening to tapes of the man he strikes me as a nasty piece of work...an evil little man. He declared 'war' on "tyranny and aggression" with the absolute lack of irony that Americans are renowned for. Yeah...fight tyranny and aggression with tyranny and aggression! I've got a note which is a bit vague to me...something about Johnson crossing the Rubicon as far as bombing civilians goes, I think...I might mean that Johnson sanctioned the bombing of innocent civilians in Vietnam even before the marines formally invaded Vietnam.* History repeats...McNamara's comments about the US being unable to persuade nations with comparable values across the world of the justness of its cause against Vietnam resonated with me. President George W.Bush's own war against 'terror' had the same problem...only a lap dog like Australia would join the US on its adventurism. Aptly, McNamara does not seem to regard Australia as important enough to acknowledge as an ally. Maybe he forgot. Maybe he didn't regard us as like minded or equivalent. If we're doing this to win brownie points with the US, I think we are doomed! Most importantly, McNamara acknowledges that the fact that no nations with comparable values joined the US against Vietnam indicated that the US needed to reevaluate its values! * Just a minor side note: McNamara has a Shirley McLaine moment when he derives cosmic significance from the fact that (he claims) he chose a spot for the assassinated President Kennedy to be buried which the living president Kennedy had commented on positively beforehand.Of course, McNamara's hindsight is 20/20. But I wonder how much any wisdom he may have gained would have changed things had he to be in the same situation again. My view is that he would have done it all over again, the same way...Genghis Khan knew how to make an omelette. American presidents and generals and secretaries of state have the recipe too.