"The Dictator" Movie Review

Second movie review....The Dictator! Again, sorry for the review being text. I am working on getting a video done for the next review.

Going into this movie I really didn't know what to expect after watching the trailer. I didn't really have an opinion on it, other than this is going to be an actual funny Sacha Baron Cohen film like "Borat" or it was going to be crude, tasteless, and/or disappointing like "Bruno". After watching it though, I was surprised....I actually did like it. It might be because "The Dictator" was done a bit differently from the previously two mentioned movies. This is not a good movie but it also isn't awful either.

"The Dictator" tells the story about a strange, egotistical dictator named Haffaz Alladeen (played by Sacha Baron Cohen) who rules over the nation of Waadeya. When the United Nations want to meet with Alladeen to talk about his country becoming a democracy, which he dislikes, Alladeen travels to New York. There, the people of his country want him out of power, so higher officials have Alladeen kidnapped, have his signature beard shaven off, and hope to have him killed. In replacement though, they have an every day goat herder take his place to sign the democracy treaty. Alladeen survives and end up on the streets of New York, seen as an average person, meeting new and old friends who try to help him reach back into power as the dictator.

Like I said this movie isn't good but it is definitely a lot of fun and kept me interested. I do like the character that Sacha Baron Cohen had created. He was always fun to watch and never really knew what was going to happen next. Even though there is A LOT of crude humor in this, such as toilet humor and racist jokes, I felt like it was done in a pretty tasteful way.....as tasteful as those type of jokes can be. It's not poorly done as it was in the movie "Bruno", in my opinion. If you don't really care for those kinds of jokes though, you might want to skip this one since they are throughout the whole movie. Still though, there are some other jokes in it that were funny that weren't that type of humor. Also, the things that are really funny in this movie are absolutely hilarious. I definitely laughed really hard at some of the scenes. One thing that was really interesting about this film that is different from Cohen's other films is that it is not a mockumentary. It sort of starts out that way, but it is really a fully scripted film which a lot people seem to be liking more. Another thing I really did enjoy about this film that is different from Sacha Baron Cohen's other films is that it actually tried to have story to it and not just be gag after gag. I think this is because this movie was actually fully scripted and not just random things he does like in his other films.

One thing about the humor of this movie is that although it can be very funny, a lot of other people might not like it, and a few of the gags go on a little to long than needed. Also, there will be a really hilarious scene that happens, but then another one won't happen for another good 10 or 15 minutes so the pacing could be seen as "bad". I also missed the whole mockumentary sense of Cohen's other films that was missing here. This didn't necessarily make it a bad film, but it just didn't feel as much as a Sacha Baron Cohen film to me. Also, there is very little story line and very little depth to the characters in this movie.

Overall, this was another ok movie. I wouldn't say go out of your way to see it, but if you want to go see then go ahead (maybe go for like an afternoon showing, though). As I said before, if you don't really like crude or racist jokes then you might want to stay away from this one, but the things that are hilarious in this are really really funny which makes it worth seeing if you want.


Well I hope you guys enjoy this review! The next review coming up is going to be "The Avengers" and I'm not sure yet which one will follow. I will keep you guys posted as to which movies I see weekly, though. As promised "Breaking Dawn Pt. 1" and "The Hunger Games" is on the way.

Keep you guys posted,
~FilmFox