User Reviews

"Oppenheimer" versão movimento estudantil. Chega a ser irônico um movimento vir de norte-americanos, mas o bom do filme é que se reconhecem como pessoas "outsiders", e tem de tudo, de imigrantes a afro-descendentes, e jovens brancos desajustados. Uma carteira de trabalho resolveria o problema.

I read the book 'How to Blow up a Pipeline' by Andreas Malm after reading his book 'Fossil Capital' which outlines the emergence of steam power in England during the industrial and pre industrial periods and how it related to labour reforms and social revolution. The book reaches its crescendo as it catches up to modern times and shifts to frustration. 'How to Blow up a Pipeline' draws on the ire and frustration of those last few chapters and lays out in Stark, damning and vitriolic detail the self defense needed to avoid extinction from anti-human extremists and ecological terrorists; whether they be petrochem or coal multi-nationals or any of the politicians and many media figures who would use extremism and terrorism to endanger the very habitability of life on this planet and human civilization itself. The Film starts out depicting an event in the book where a group managed to successfully reduce the ownership of wasteful and unnecessary vehicles in Sweden for some time. It then mostly proceeds to deviate completely from the book and uses the book's title in a far more literal sense. While the book is a dry, maddening dive into the recent history behind the inaction and anti-action towards preventing the end of human civilization, the film follows a group of brave, determined people who have been directly affected by terrorism and extremism and driven to self defense. The plot is simple and solid and the use of tense, bleeding, foreboding music and brief, to the point, utilitarian dialogue compliments it, laying a thick sheet of tension over every scene, reminding you that these people have been forced to have to make explosives in order to defend themselves from extremists. The flashback scenes were short and brief. They could have been a bit more fleshed out, but that would probably draw too much from the film's greatest strength which is its use of brevity and tension. The film is a bit too American centric, I would have liked to have seen a more international theme including people from places such as the Marshall Islands, Fiji, Micronesia or the Solomon Islands to represent those who are already suffering catastrophe despite contributing virtually nothing to the problem. Or someone from Ecuador or Central America who suffered immensely from terrorist acts from large petrochem companies. I would, however since it is so American centric, have liked to have seen a depiction of a wet bulb event in a populated area in Arizona or Texas to really drive home just how much these acts of terror will be unavoidable even in a place as developed and advanced as the United States. There is mention of a 'freak heat wave' but that doesn't really show just how deadly a wet bulb event will be. I also understand however that depicting this would completely blow the budget and make it into a horror film. So I don't hold it too much against it. I would have liked another scene showing how innocents such as the two rangers are almost put into harm's way due to an act of self defense and then driven to acts of terror themselves by trying to shoot and murder someone who was simply defending himself and the Rangers themselves. It isn't a bad scene but it doesn't really drive home the point of how everyone is affected whether they like it or not. Overall the film is riveting and tense. It knows its strength is in its tension, pacing and brevity and it uses those in the right amount at the right times. Jake Weary and Forrest Goodluck were the standout performances, both adding a nice stoicism which adds to the overall frantic but controlled feel of the film. A solid thriller with a message steeped in the undeniable, uncomfortable reality of the self defense we can be driven to when faced with acts of terror and extremism.

(Mauro Lanari) Provocative, well-directed, naively subversive or subversively naive indie film.

This is a retro thriller about diverse people who collaborate to blow up a pipeline due to personal wrongs that were visited upon them by Big Oil. It's like a low budget Fight Club, with less emphasis on slick entertainment and more focus on a realistic portrayal of the high risk plan.

75/100 One of the dumbest reviews I read about this movie was from IndieWire. I know, such pretentious people. In it the reviewer said that the movie couldn't establish any of the characters, which I find laughable considering that the very plot automatically lets you understand that they are not what matters, it's their actions and the message they want to establish. Come on, even the damn title tells you that. I don't know if that reviewer was expecting a compilation of deeper backstories to give another meaning to their actions, but his train of thought went a different way. Personally, I think he was confused about the movie, and the same goes for anyone expecting a melodramatic exploration of what is essentially a pulsating, exciting and tense activist thriller. How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a very good movie, but you have to understand up front that the message and the reasons they fight for is what this film is all about, not typecasting its characters into a mold of traumas.

The intro of the atomic bomb ushered horror films built around the resultant radiation (Godzilla!). After working thru serial killers and haunted spectres, we're headed to a new subject: climate change. A group of 8 young people goes thru the titular procedure: We see them prepping all of the elements and carrying out the plan. There are moments of backstory, when we're allowed to see the motivations behind their commitment. Even so, there's virtually no real emotional connection, resulting in more of an procedural video that's sometimes mildly gripping and other times fascinating. 

A group of misfit environmentaists band together for a common cause: to blow up a pipeline and send a message to all those involved. Their motives and backgrounds vary, but their cause to protect and avenge their environment is what they have in common. Genuinely suspenseful and tensely performed by all involved, The film plays out surprisingly like a heist thriller, where the steaks feel high and the tension more than I suspected would be involved. It also was surprisingly not too politically heavy-handed, as this aspect seemed to take a backseat to the storytelling and thrills of it all As for the cast, everyone's so solid and on point here that it's impossible to single any one of these young actors out, although it was great seeing Sasha Lane and Forrest Goodluck in particular Once again, as they really haven't seemed to have done much since their breakout roles in 'American Honey' and 'The Revenant' respectively. This also happens to be their second collaboration together after 'The Miseducation of Cameron Post.' Overall, this is a solid film that really pleasantly surprised me and more ways than one and stands out as one of the most impactful films of the year for me so far!