Consumed (2015) Reviews

• Non-Biased Review

  Marc_Action2017-03-29

  Consumed is a film you're either going to love or hate most likely based on what side of the aisle you stand on when it comes to the GMO controversy. Browsing through the reviews confirms this theory as, not surprisingly, most of the 25+ reviews are either 1-star or 10-star. However, in my unbiased opinion, the movie is neither good nor bad, so there's really no other way to explain the very polarized ratings. So, for the few that don't have a dog in the fight, my review will be an attempt to wade through all the political mumbo jumbo of the other reviews on either side. It will be based solely on the merits of the filmmakers' ability to deliver a suspenseful thriller – nothing more, nothing less. OK, here we go… Consumed follows the story of a single mom in small town Iowa who finds herself taking on the juggernaut Clonestra, a corrupt sustainable agriculture company (a la Monsanto) behind the rise of genetically modified organism (GMO) products around the world, after she suspects her son is developing an allergic reaction to them. And this brief synopsis pretty much sums up the entire movie that carries a moderate 1:35-minute run time. It's monotonous Thing is, we've seen similar movies like this before that have been done more effectively such as Erin Brockovich (2000) with Julia Roberts and the Insider (1999) with Al Pacino and Russell Crowe. The film does get by on a half way decent story and Zoe Lister-Jones (Sophie) does a convincing enough job as a scared parent with little resources willing to do anything to protect the health of her child. The bond she shares with her son and mother also play a strong part in the film. And that's a good thing, because little else about the film stands out. For one thing, none of the events that are supposed to build suspense are effective. You never really feel like Sophie is in any real danger when she starts going up against the corrupt Clonestra. You also never really get the feeling that she's going to be able to make any significant difference in the fight against GMOs in the supermarket. She does eventually have a face-to-face standoff with the CEO of Clonestra but there isn't any conclusion to what is supposed to be the climatic point of Consumed. It just felt flat and inauthentic. In conclusion, Consumed gets by on decent acting, and character development and interaction, but falls short on suspense, entertain value, plausibility, and a satisfying ending. Therefore, I can't really recommend this film but I won't go as far as saying don't watch it. If you do, just don't expect to be CONSUMED by any aspect of it.

• Review of the Negative Reviews

  mcleodjack2016-03-24

  Reviewer discripplemation, who gave it a bad review, says it's full of misinformation and outright lies; however, discripplemation fails to support the allegations with any examples. Interesting note: discripplemation has only been an IMDb member for 3 weeks and this is his or her ONLY review. Reviewer Windsun33 has given negative reviews to all the other documentaries that expose food and water corruption such as "GMO OMG," "TAPPED," and "Seeds of Death" while most everyone else has given good ratings to these documentaries. Reviewer ted_corning gives it a bad review and even uses an old trick wherein he preempts criticism by saying those that don't support GMOs will call the pro-GMO people shills as if that is supposed to make him credible for pointing that out. Well if the shoe fits... Interesting note: ted_corning has only been a member of IMDb for 3 weeks and has no other reviews. Another reviewer, kelsokristen, has been an IMDb member of just 1 month and 3 weeks AND has no other reviews. Does anyone see a pattern here? Yeah, I thought so. It's so damn obvious. Anyway, enjoy the movie. It's pretty good considering the budget the producers had to work with. And to answer the stupid question, "Why would talented A-list actors attach themselves to this movie," it is because they understand the dangers of GMOs and want to lend their support to the movement. DUH. Why does every other advanced country in the world ban or label GMOs if they're not a problem?

• Nothing like what the pro GMO people are saying. Its a good film.

  jasonbarnettnz2016-03-24

  I wanted to say hey this is actually a good film and it is actually researched. I wanted to see for myself so I went onto pub-med and actually found a whole bunch of studies linking GMOs and Monsanto roundup to autistic behavior, all kinds of allergies and yes even cancer. There are many reputable scientists who are genuinely concerned about the use of modified crops that can handle large amounts of pesticides that end up in the food in bigger numbers than ever before. You are what you eat, and the more we allow pesticides and chemicals like roundup that has been clinically proved to disrupt enzymes and proteins and cause cellular mutations then the worse off we are. There is good hard science backing the stories in this film yet many average people simply don't know this because the corporately owned media does its best to paint GMOs in a positive light. Go on pub-med and search yourself! Itys a shame this film is getting such bad ratings because of "damage control" from fake profiles and just plain old ignorant public who simply have no clue how GMOs are even created and why the science still has a long way to go before its safe. We are creating new toxic proteins and stuff that our bodies don't like or want. You can prove this to yourself, buy some food that you know is GMO, and buy the same kind of food that is organic and then try and feed both to your dog or cat (something they like obviously) and you'll notice that the animals somehow know what is GMO and what is not, they instinctively ALWAYS go for the natural non GMO and leave the GMO product in the bowl. This had been proved also with mice. When mice invade a farm shed they always leave the GMO seeds, wont eat them but they eat everything else. Why? because nature knows best. Also when you feed GMO food to animals they develop much higher cases of abnormalities, swollen glands and have higher cancer rates. This is a scientific fact here. Im not making anything up because I don't need to. Its just that the average public have no idea of these facts because these facts you have to dig deep for because no one in the corporate media will write articles about this. In fact they are paid my agricultural companies to write positive spin about GMOS. This is how it actually is. This is a really important film and if you google it you'll also find out these A list actors also agree about the dangers of GMOs and the feel passionately about it, because they are informed.

• Well Done

  jtopcats2016-03-23

  This movie is comprised of extremely useful information. There are many excellent documentaries alike. People need to know what the industry is doing behind closed doors and this film opens the doors to what's really happening. I was elated to see that such a film was made and hope there are more to follow. As other have mentions, I see the one star reviewers. I wonder if they even watched the film. The biotech industry is so evil that it is not inconceivable that they would try to discredit this film. They either work for the industry and are afraid of the inconvenient truth. One reviewer wrote they had a problem coming up with ten lines. Why even leave a review? Moron. I hope this film has a sequel and I hope to see many more like it.

• Excellent film

  peterberger2016-03-20

  I'm not surprised in the least the Pro Monsanto trolls above who gave the film one star are spewing their propaganda because they don't want people to see this important film that tells the truth. Classic of them to try and make people not see the reality. This film is impressive. It is one of those stories you rarely get to see Hollywood make anymore because they are too busy making giant Superhero movies. This is a subtle and intriguing suspense thriller like those of old. The acting is amazing. This cast is killer. So fun to see Anthony Edwards and Kunal Nayyar act together. I have to say, I was surprised at every turn. Lots of twists and turns along the way. It's great storytelling. Looks STUNNING. Fantastic cinematography for an indie film with lots of beautiful locations. Most importantly, it's about something real. This affects me and my children and I give many thanks to this filmmaker for putting this amazing work out there.