Battle in Seattle

R

Released Sep 9, 2007

1h 39m

Drama

List

56%

61 Reviews

Tomatometer

64%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In 1999, members of the World Trade Organization arrive in Seattle for negotiations that are closed to the public. Concerned about globalization, activists Jay (Martin Henderson), Lou (Michelle Rodriguez) and Django (André Benjamin) prepare for peaceful protests. Trying to prevent potential violence, Mayor Tobin (Ray Liotta) attempts to coordinate the police to avoid chaos. When a small group of unruly activists begins wreaking havoc, the planned marches quickly turn to riots.

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Critics Consensus

Well intentioned and passionate, this docu-drama about the 1999 WTO protests is heavier on politics than character development.

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Grant H

The movie does a good job of mixing documentary footage with a compelling story. Anyone who's been to a protest, will recognize themselves in this film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/30/23

Full Review

georgan g

This movie helps you understand what big demonstrations are about. Activists are shown as caring about the people of the world.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The film depicts the protest in 1999, as thousands of activists arrive in Seattle, Washington in masses to protest the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999. Protesters believe the World Trade Organization contributes to widening the wealth gap between the rich and the poor, while the WTO claims to be fixing the disparity and decreasing world hunger, disease, and death. The movie takes an in-depth look at several fictional characters during those five days in 1999 as demonstrators protested the meeting of the WTO in Seattle's streets. The movie portrays conflicts between the peaceful protesters and people committing property destruction whose actions were widely covered by the media. Although the protest began peacefully with a goal of stopping the WTO talks, police began teargassing the crowd after it refused to clear the streets and the situation escalated into a full-scale riot and a State of Emergency that pitted protesters against the Seattle Police Department and the Washington National Guard. Rotten Tomatoes consensus was that the film, though "Well intentioned and passionate, this docu-drama about the 1999 WTO protests is heavier on politics than character development". New York Magazine called the film "a triumph", while Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and described it as "not quite a documentary and not quite a drama, but interesting all the same" and compared it to past political films like Medium Cool. According to EW.com, the film "sounds like a bad TV movie: a drama based on the protests that halted the 1999 World Trade Organization summit in Seattle. Yet Stuart Townsend re-creates it all with stunning passion and skill". Despite director Stuart Townsend's stated intention of portraying the events of protest accurately, the film was criticized by anarchist collective CrimethInc. for what they saw as its sensationalistic portrayal of events. In a pamphlet titled "And What About Tomorrow?", the collective allege that the protests were characterized in the film as an isolated spontaneous uprising in which a "small fringe group" of black bloc anarchists "stole the show", whereas CrimethInc. contend that "anarchists were involved in all different aspects of the protests" including nonviolent organization and Food Not Bombs, and credit the adoption of anarchist direct action tactics with the success of the uprising. A review published by Anarkismo praised the film as "clearly well-researched", citing the pacing and general narrative as quite accurate, but criticized the presentation of anarchist politics as one-dimensional and a caricature. "Battle in Seattle" is loosely based on the protest activity at the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999, but suffers from not having the look and feel of authenticity and the different characters are not fully connecting the dots to my mind. I had hopes that the city itself would play a bigger part in the scenery, but it didn´t really. Ok cast with Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Connie Nielsen, Ray Liotta etc, but you don´t really believe in their characters. They´re just too stereotypical and vague. And the acting is not fully convincing either. "Battle in Seattle" is not a must see.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

victor o

Actor/Director Stuart Townsend puts forth a project that is a reflection of his political views in a movie which despite his best efforts and a decent cast, is a monumental failure. It is about the 1999 World Trade Organization protests. I was indifferent to these protests when they happened and after watching this movie made me disgusted at those protests. People with passions running wild create chaos and those that want to do right are silenced. I hated this story. Despite such great actors like Woody Harrelson, Connie Nielsen and Stuart Townsend's girlfriend Charlize Theron. Nobody could have salvaged this mess.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Great acting. Especially from Harrelson and Liotta and plot. The execution I thought was faulty.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

laurie s

Sadly, yet again the US police are portrayed as unprofessional, untrained morons with no self discipline. Even more sad is the movies is based on fact.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Stuart Townsend

Director

André Benjamin

Django

Woody Harrelson

Dale

Martin Henderson

Jay

Ray Liotta

Mayor Tobin

Connie Nielsen

Jean

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Hank Sartin

Time Out

Rated: 3/5

Nov 18, 2011

Full Review

Mark Holcomb

Time Out

Rated: 2/5

Nov 17, 2011

Full Review

Leo Goldsmith

indieWire

Approaching its subject with a neat idealism and packaging its political fervor in the most facile of forms, the film boasts a cast loaded with Hollywoods both new and old and wraps its message up with eye-rolling naivete.

Aug 8, 2009

Full Review

Brian D. Johnson

Maclean's Magazine

The movie's dramatic devices are schematic, but in the end there's something strangely moving about Battle in Seattle.

Dec 27, 2017

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Seanax.com

... a conventional drama about the unconventional protest landmark: the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle, Washington, a real event explored through the familiar fictional stories of various protesters, delegates and bystanders.

Nov 18, 2016

Full Review

Brandon Judell

GreenCine

This thriller will inspire any leftie cells you might possess to stand up and cheer.

Jul 29, 2011

Full Review

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Synopsis

In 1999, members of the World Trade Organization arrive in Seattle for negotiations that are closed to the public. Concerned about globalization, activists Jay (Martin Henderson), Lou (Michelle Rodriguez) and Django (André Benjamin) prepare for peaceful protests. Trying to prevent potential violence, Mayor Tobin (Ray Liotta) attempts to coordinate the police to avoid chaos. When a small group of unruly activists begins wreaking havoc, the planned marches quickly turn to riots.

Director: Stuart Townsend
Producer: Julien Remillard
Screenwriter: Stuart Townsend
Distributor: Redwood Palms Pictures
Production Co: Hyde Park Entertainment, Remstar Productions, Insight Film Studios
Rating: R (Some Violence|Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 9, 2007, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 28, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $223.5K
Runtime: 1h 39m

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