A movie about the importance of investigative journalism/journalistic integrity/whistleblowing is bound to get a little overrated by critics. Nevertheless, I recognize this is a good movie. Great performances/characters, stylish directing by Michael Mann (camerawork and editing holds up a lot better than most other movies from ‘99) and there’s an interesting, complex drama at the core of this. However, it’s too long, sometimes the dialogue feels watered down (repetitive exposition; the court scene where the lawyers interact has some very odd, unrealistic dialogue) and there’s also cheesy stuff in it that clashes with its prestige drama tone. For example, the way that it portrays the tobacco industry threatening Wigand feels like a bunch of scene concepts taken from Oliver Stone’s _JFK_, or something a comicbook villain would do. So that doesn't quite work, but it's still worth seeing regardless.

6.5/10