adonis98-743-186503 Activists arrive in Seattle, Washington en masse to protest a meeting of the World Trade Organization. Riots and chaos ensue as demonstrators successfully stop the WTO meetings. Starring an all star cast of talented people like Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson and Ray Liotta. Battle in Seattle might be a propaganda or something that you could easily see on television but thanks to it's all star cast and moving story is a great film on it's own the only problem i had was with the character of Dale played by Harrelson his performance was good but there was like not too much emotion all this things happen in his life he should be affected more against the people responsible for all this instead someone innocent. The Battle Continues....

wlake62 I worked in the Georgetown area of Seattle during the WTO riots. This movie was hard for me to watch. It is sympathetic to the "protesters", which to this day, I don't understand. I don't know what they were protesting? Why did they have to vandalize personal property of those they don't even know? It's not the first time this has happened here.The rioters attacked my city unprovoked, yet this movie focuses on the plight of the so-called protesters. Woody Harrelson's character was portrayed as a crazy cop, hell bent on killing every protester in sight. Then he is seen apologizing to the lead protester in jail. The mayor is a milquetoast who doesn't have a clue (okay, that part is true). In one scene where the rioters are being booked into jail, a woman says, "Who's going to get us out?" Well, they should have thought about that before they started a street war. I'm glad the police beat the crap out of them.Other than the twisted point of view and editorial license, the acting is marginal at best. There is no chemistry between Woody and Charlize Theron. Disgusting, GenX "I Win" movie for thugs and wannabes.

btm1 The story in this film is merely a framework for its attack on policies of the World Trade Organization that give lip service to environmental protection, workers rights, medicine for poor nations, etc. It is a dramatization of actual protests at the Seattle WTO meeting. What I particularly liked about the film was the way it sympathetically told the story from the perspectives of various sides in the conflict between protesters and the city, as well as the perspective of conference delegates from third world countries and NGOs. The Mayor thought he would score political points by getting the WTO to hold its meeting in his city. He was aware that there would be protests but had met in advance with the protests leaders and gotten pledges that the protests would be non-violent. In return he gave his word that police would only arrest any demonstrators who disrupted the proceedings. Decades ago the Mayor had been a participant in protests against the Vietnam War so he was reluctant to use any sort of violence against the protesters. Labor Unions planned a peaceful march in protest of the meeting, and had agreed to confine the march to a designated path. His Chief of Police assured him in advance of the meeting that the police were prepared to handle the demonstrations without getting any bad publicity.Things didn't go as the Mayor and Police Chief expected. Instead of picketing the conference site, the environmental protesters prevented delegates from reaching the meeting site. Then the Labor marchers deviated from the agreed path and also started breaking storefront windows. The Governor wanted the Mayor to declare an emergency curfew and call out the National Guard, but the Mayor believed that would worsen the situation. The Chief of Police got the Mayor to authorize use of tear gas and batons. The pregnant wife of a member of the police riot squad worked downtown and got caught in a violent attack on the nonviolent protesters.We see the story develop from the viewpoints of the Mayor and of the riot squad police officer and his wife, as well as from the perspective of the organizers of and participants in the environmental protests. We also briefly follow a conference NGO delegate who is at the conference to try to persuade the WTO to allow impoverished third world nations to obtain medicines at a lower cost. We also briefly see the conference from the viewpoint of a delegate from a third world nation who is trying to persuade the WTO to change its policies that the WTO purports helps impoverished nations, but in reality oppresses them. We also get the perspective of a TV reporter assigned to cover the convention, which President Clinton is scheduled to attend.

Samiam3 Battle in Seattle's intention is to merge ensemble feature with Cinema verite. The result is an effective ninety minute feature which is thought provoking, powerful and unconventional. Its statement is not without bias, but I was impressed with the films ability to portray its content (the WTO riots in Seatle) with an open mind to morality. There is something good and bad in both the face of democracy/law enforcement, and the thousands of protesters arguing that World Trade is un democratic, and that major corporations are overtaking nations with no regard for people. My one complaint about the film, is that the ending is presented in too much of a corny Hollywood conventional manner. director/writer Stuart Townsend, is unable to keep the story open to both sides for an hour an a half, so for the climax, he chooses the most obvious solution, and starts putting 'good guy' and 'bad guy' labels on peoples faces.Not Since Gangs of New York has the United States of America looked so self-destructive and un democratic. Perhaps this is why Townsend chose to make the ending happy. Trying to show that America can resolve it's own conflict and is not North Korea, or Iraq. Needless to say, Battle in Seattle is based on true events, and in this case, that means something. Its more than just an advertising slogan. It's an overall competent film, which could use a few trimming here and a bit more material there, but I liked it