MOVIE REVIEW: "SHOOT THE MESSENGER" (2014)

“KILL THE MESSENGER” (2014) MOVIE REVIEW

An ambiguous title, this suspense laden film exposes the treacherous exploits of a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb (JEREMY RENNER) who leaves no table unturned and will snoop at all costs, just to get wind of a scoop.

Gary (RENNER) works for the San Jose Mercury News as staff writer during the mid-1990s.

Work is often not bliss as he and his boss never seems to get along.

So when an attractive woman named Coral (PAZ VEGA) calls to meet up somewhere to hand him a grand jury transcript file depicting the CIA’s shady drug deals with Nicaraguan Contras, Webb smells a golden opportunity for an unusual scoop.

He digs further and after doing some investigations which eventually leads him to Central America for a crucial interview with imprisoned drug lord Norwin Meneses (ANDY GARCIA).

After the unabridged interview, he finds he has enough content to write a three-part expose called “Dark Alliance”.

While his effort wins him a journalist of the year award and is besieged with media attention, he finds himself trapped in the aftermath of setbacks that threatened his freedom, his career as well as his family.

Two-time Academy Award nominee JEREMY RENNER handles his role with aplomb. He leads an all-star cast in this dramatic thriller based on the true life story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Webb.

Webb uncovers a story which leads him to the shady origins of the men who started the crack epidemic on the nation’s streets…He further discovers that the CIA was aware of major dealers who were smuggling cocaine into the U.S., and using the profits to fund the rebels fighting in Nicaragua.

Despite warnings from drug kingpins and CIA operatives to stop his investigation, Webb keeps digging to uncover a conspiracy with explosive implications.

His journey takes him from the prisons of California to the villages of Nicaragua to the highest corridors of power in Washington, D.C. – and draws the kind of attention that threatens not just his career, but his family and his life.

The film director sucessfully spins a mesmerizing combination of exciting story-telling and historical narrative that’s bound to keep you on edge.

Will Gary Webb die in the end?

Just visit the cinema for the answer.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5

Local Distributor: GSC MOVIES