The Undefeated

With all the glowing reviews you'd think this film would have a rating over 8, instead of the dismal 1.6 reflective of some of the worst films ever made. This means the people who loved it (or love Sarah Palin) took the time to write a review, while the vast majority who thought it was complete garbage didn't bother. There is only one conclusion one could extrapolate from this: Palin supporters are a dedicated, but very much in the minority.

I don't think this was the worst film ever made, but let's be clear that this was a fluff piece for the main subject. Politically it's no more nor less one-sided than a Michael Moore doc, but at least Michael Moore brings awareness to a particular subject of topical interest rather than simply shameless self-promotion. Even as a bit of propaganda, The Undefeated is heavy-handed, too long, unsubtle, and lacks an engaging narrative structure.

I noticed that most of the positive reviewers also had never reviewed another film besides this one, suggesting they created a profile just to promote The Undefeated.

If you're huge fan of Palin, have $10-15 to burn, and want to spend 2 hours hearing about how wicked her detractors are and how awesome she is, then this documentary might be for you. Or you could just read some of the glowing 'reviews' here and get the gist of the type of person who would love it. Personally, I wish I had accidentally walked into the wrong theater and saw Captain America instead.

The Undefeated is a political documentary about one of the most well-known, but misunderstood political figures of our time. While the film is in no way objective (it's 100% pro-Palin), it is also not fluff. The filmmaker elected to spend two full hours covering every important detail of Palin's political biography in order to set the record straight against the many misconceptions that have prevailed in the media about her.

While the presentation could be called a bit heavy-handed with respect to the use of hyperbolic rhetoric, epic movie-score music, and imagery taken from the animal kingdom, the content far overshadows any of that. This woman has her finger on the pulse of what really matters in public office, and the film does an excellent job of conveying that graphically. It shows her humble personal background in a small-town in the "Last Frontier", the purity of her intentions in getting involved in politics, the tenacity and effectiveness of her actions in office, and the inspirational leadership that she has provided to the Tea Party movement and women and girls everywhere since she ascended to the national scene in 2008.

Although the film is long for a feature documentary, it is not boring. There is nothing more important in my opinion than informing the public about those who aspire to lead our nation in this critical moment in our nation's history. I do believe that Sarah Palin is that person, and this film illustrates it. But even if you don't agree (yet), I would strongly urge that you see this film and decide for yourself.

I want to first off make it clear that I have no political axe to grind here. As far as I am concerned both the Dems AND Repubs are equally useless. That said, I want you to know that I review this "film" on it's merits as a documentary and not in critique of the (admittedly weird) political content.

This film was a hodgepodge of sound bites and glowing testimonials to the power of Sarah Palin, nothing more. There was very little in the way of followable narrative, and any and all opposing viewpoints where hissed upon as some kind of shadowy conspiracy from "the left" to destroy what they see as their biggest threat. It felt more like a dumbed down version of "Triumph of the Will" to me. And like Leni Riefenstahl's classic film, it left me with a sense of dread in knowing that so many people can be so easily swayed by melodramatic notions of patriotism and willful demagoguery.

And at least Riefenstahl could work a camera in a manner that didn't look like she was about to have an epileptic fit. The camera work in some of the interview portions makes it seem like someone is tickling the camera person. This may have been an attempt at making the scene look more "urgent" or "home brewed" I don't know, but it came across like someone skimmed through "An Idioit's Guide to Cutting Edge Documentary Filmmaking" the night before and didn't quite get it.

If Palin truly had aspirations for some form of national higher office, I really feel that she may have blown it by allowing this stinker to be released. It's a real shame too, because the US really needs a shakeup in it's political system. If you are a fan of Sarah Palin, do not watch this film as it may leave a bad taste in your mouth due to it's transparent attempt at being an extended infomercial.

People expecting to watch The Undefeated and see a polarizing, divisive Sarah Palin might be disappointed. The real Sarah Palin shown in this film is more about battling corruption than scoring cheap political points. Afterall, this is the woman who enjoyed a sustained 80% approval rating governing the state of Alaska, where more than two-thirds of the electorate are independent. This is the woman who turned in her state party chairman for ethics violations. He later received the largest ethics fine in state history.

Sarah Palin had high approval ratings in Alaska because she worked in bi-partisan fashion to pursue popular reforms, including a nearly unanimous and sweeping ethics law, a new system for calculating oil royalties, and the blueprint for a $40 billion natural gas line.

Since being picked as a VP candidate, this popular governor has been subjected to more bizarre scrutiny than any VP candidate in history.

I challenge skeptics to watch this film with an open mind to see the popular reformer who took on the special interests in her home state.

Of course its no surprise to see certain segments resorting to stuffing the ballot box for a movie they never saw.

What is truly amazing is the hate coming from people. Why do they hate Sarah Palin so much, they'd register on a site and vote against a movie about her when they never even saw the movie. Did she hurt them in some way? Did she cost them money or their job? Did she hurt their family or their family pet?

Did she send their son, daughter, husband, or wife off to war? Did she raise their taxes or stop their government checks?

No, she didn't do any of that. In fact, unless you lived in Alaska, she's never had one iota of control over you or them. ...and in Alaska, she is still considered a great governor.

What did she do to these people that they've gone into catatonic fits of rage in opposition to the mere mention of her name?

See the movie and find out the answer to the mystery.