The time for action is well overdue. SS: It's so important when discussing the NRA to note that they only represent 5 percent of gun owners, right? Propaganda pure and simple. Emotional gun control docu addresses complex issue. KC: We didn't want to distract from the core story and I was perfectly happy to not be too front and center. Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2018. Stephanie Soechtig's follow-up to 'Fed Up' could've used the same title in its stance on gun control in the U.S. More than 21,000 of those were self-inflicted. Our first collaboration FED UP was to answer the question why do we as a society keep getting bigger and bigger and why are our children getting heavier and heavier. That having been said, documentaries like Under the Gun will do little to aid the never-ending debate that surrounds the issue of guns in America. It was good to see different points of view. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. If I didn't have my background I may have been convinced by the movie that the federal government is the only entity with the power to help prevent gun violence and/or the federal government has never done anything to prevent gun violence. All rights reserved. I think it's more journalistic and less showbizzy when you do that. If you're on a government terror watch list, you can't board a plane, but you can pass a background check and buy a gun legally. Sign in to see videos available to you. Practically every argument employed by the film has been around for years and has done nothing to ease the NRA’s absolutist stranglehold on the gun debate. There are no approved quotes yet for this movie. In 2013, there were almost 34,000 total gun deaths. There are between 270 million and 310 million guns in the U.S. -- almost one firearm for every man, woman, and child. Stephanie Soechtig’s film which is narrated by Katie Couric, the two having previously worked together on the dietary activist documentary Fed Up, opens with an ominous statistic: “Before this film is over 22 people will be shot.” From there the film goes into an opening credit sequence of historical moments, including the assassination of John and Robert Kennedy, as the apocalyptic music blares. Stephanie Soechtig: None of the families we interviewed requested it but there is definitely a "No Notoriety" campaign among many of the victim's families. I really enjoyed watching this movie, but felt it was somewhat lacking in its critical review of the questions it raised. The call ends abruptly and Mike rushes to LA to find his brother has been murdered. If Under the Gun were more focused on the aftermath of these horrific events these moments might not come across as forms of emotional manipulation, but when it delves into the history of the NRA and the political operations of the gun lobby it becomes apparent that Under the Gun is really a one-sided affair that is inelegant in its arguments. Sidney Poitier’s 7 Most Memorable Performances, All Harry Potter Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer. Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2018. “Under the Gun” understands the typical cycle of shock, outrage, hopelessness and complacency that follows such events in the 24-hour news cycle and aims to channel those initial instincts into action. Soechtig's passionately contended, slickly produced film may not sway the most fervid 2nd Amendment defenders, but in its problem-solving vigor could spur a lot of others who believe in change to make that call, join that group, or vote a certain way. Don’t worry, it won’t take long. So you're seeing between 90-95 percent of people who own guns not represented by the views of the NRA. The idea that these issues may have, up until recently, a bipartisan descent into absolute deregulation is a subject that people behind Under the Gun are unwilling to consider. Honestly was expecting better very disappointed. Each of these people make emotional pleas for a change to the status quo and they are each right in calls for action, but the film itself handles these in such a heavy handed fashion that tries to lean exclusively on emotional manipulation – idyllic scenes in slow motion of people happy and smiling before cutting away towards horrific images of mass shooting aftermath or extended home videos of the victims. Where do you put your feelings at these times? A sweeping overview of guns in America â melding jaw-dropping stats (like how gun stores outnumber Starbucks and McDonaldâs combined in the U.S.), historical perspective (how the NRA used to stay out of politics), and emotional accounts from the families of the deceased (including mothers in Chicago and the brother of a girl killed in Aurora). NDP: Do you think it's fair to say that the NRA is appealing to the same level of emotion and level of misinformation that sometimes Donald Trump has been doing? Mentions the gun control in Washington DC and how it was shot down (rightfully keeping our right) but never mentions that violence there scyrocketet during that time or why. The percentage of users who rated this 3.5 stars or higher. The answer: nobody. There is always a why, a reason, for even to the most horrific, mind-boggling and seemingly senseless of situations. A cooling antidote to the fever pitch of emotions involving gun ownership, legislation, control and violence, this documentary's level-headed, deliberate and painstakingly laid out explanations tells us why this keeps happening and what can and can't be done. | Rating: 4/5 This was a hatchet job from start to finish. One of the more shocking details in the film is that people on the government's terrorist … This means workers at the ATF's National Tracing Center often have to go through paper files to identify the buyer of a gun linked to a crime. Please reference “Error Code 2121” when contacting customer service. This 10-digit number is your confirmation number. The ATF, because of legislation pushed by the NRA, is prohibited from putting gun sale records into a central computerized database. All Critics (10) Why Is 'Saturday Night Live' Suddenly Booking So Many Older Rock Bands? I wish one of these left this media groups would do a documentary on all the people killed by governments throughout the 21st century you know like a hundred million people killed by communism after they took the guns away.