Waco

An amazing drama with great performances all around. As the title of my review implies, the tragedy comes down to stubbornness on both sides of this conflict. While the Branch Davidians are depicted more sympathetically than I expected, including David Koresh, he is still shown as uncompromising on certain issues despite the cost to his people and his followers as unable to break with him when it is in their best interest. And he is matched by those in charge of the ATF and FBI forces, who are smarting from the initial failed attempt to arrest Koresh and perhaps seeking revenge for the ATF men who died. Gary Noesner is the FBI negotiator who is trying to find a way to save lives. Even if you followed this story as it unfolded in the news, you will learn some things. And yet this dramatization does not neatly tie up all the loose ends and answer all the questions, leaving the viewer with much to ponder.

This mini-series is quite intriguing.

At the very beginning, the scene of the BATF raid bears a very close resemblance to video and photos of the historical incident.

Taylor Kitsch does a very good job in portrayal of Koresh, based on videos of Koresh. Much of the first episode is very well filmed. The two books it is based on, by different men with different perspectives could well be worth reading. The book The Davidian Massacre, by Carol Moore is a good source of information.

As a nitpicker, I could pick on a few issues. While the BATF originally entrapped Randy Weaver in order to blackmail him to become an informant, it was the US Marshals that killed his son, lied to cover it up. The actor that portrays Randy Weaver does not resemble Randy Weaver. Weaver's talks with Col. Bo Gritz, and Officer Jack Mc Lamb went on for quite a while, and eventually did lead to his surrender, and his vindication in court.

This mini-series would also be improved if it provided more background of the Branch Davidian, possibly in flash-backs.

Telling this story in the form of a mini-series is interesting. Viewers can watch one episode, then research the story on their own, and discuss it with others, and then watch the next episode.

I would urge viewers to do that, rather than paying attention to the politically correct trolls. Good people of all political persuasions and religious beliefs agree that law enforcement officers should be required to follow the law, and never be given a free pass if they murder citizens.

Every actor in this is incredible. The resemblance of Koresh to Kitsch is uncanny, even the voice. This man has many movies in his future, his acting is superb and the screen loves him. This movie seems pretty accurate so far, and it really delves into the human side of every single person involved. It is almost if there are multiple protagonists - the children, Koresh, the FBI negotiator who clearly wanted to end this with no violence, and the lost souls whom we only slowly get to know. There are no dull moments. I am loving this series so far....

This one gave me a lot of insight into the story of what really happened. This is one of the saddest events in history. A lot of lessons can be learned here

I completely disagree with many of the reviews that I've seen saying that this show "idolized Koresh". What were you guys watching? Koresh was painted in a very good light for the first couple of episodes but beyond that he was very very ugly in this series. They absolutely made a point of showing the pain he inflicted on his people and if you were rooting for him in the end.... I don't know what to tell you, that certainly isn't the vibe I got from the series.

Seems to me this story was well told from both sides. A solid solid 78/100 from an entertainment point of view. I recommend a watch here.