JC230

7/10

Probably the least of his documentaries, Thor still has enough of Lee’s flair and strengths to shine. He’s a really empathetic documentarian, putting people at ease with sympathy and charm and corny jokes. The first half of the doc is strongest- juxtaposing the BLM protests with COVID only makes sense with how they happened at the same time. Clear lines are drawn. The second half zeroes in on 9/11 and falters. There’s no real connection made besides NY baybee! And as affecting as the stories are, the doc as a whole starts to feel disjointed. And the thing is, it’s the easiest layup on the world to connect these topics- the callousness of the system. It’s made clear how much the system has failed- so much as it can fail people it was never for- black people in the BLM segments. And much ado is made, of course, with Trump’s government’s failure with COVID. And some of the most fiery parts of the second half is the government’s failure in protecting the public health of NYC and taking care of the victims affected in first response and the fallout of the environmental debris inhaled over years. Maybe this was just made too early, as soon we would see the Biden administration give up on Covid to prioritize the economy, much like in the fallout of 9/11. But then with Lee’s unabashed enthusiasm and worship of Biden and especially Kamala here, I honestly wonder if he’d take them to task. There is one other factor possibly at play- Lee had to reedit the episode after controversy in screeners about him platforming 9/11 turners. It was the right call, for many reasons, least of all sensitivity for the victims and their family, though he still leaves in an aside about United Airline Flight 93 being shot down instead of the passengers causing it to crash, with no counterpoint and in fact coming off as egging the man to say it. But I wonder if that was going to be his bow to tie it all up with- NYC has each other when the government fails either through failure or intentionally. It was also an odd beat to point out how the ‘rah rah America’ patriotism was really bloodlust for vengeance and caused horrific hate crimes towards Middle Eastern Americans, but to end it all with how NYC is the greatest city on earth. Still, even with these flaws, Lee’s passion and heart for his subjects is compelling and provides many an emotional and captivating story. And Blanchard’s score is as ever perfect for a Lee joint, humanistic and sensitive, stirring the soul. It’s not perfect, but like always Lee puts all of himself on the screen and doesn’t pull back a thing, and it’s an easier and more enjoyable watch than its length would imply.