BOTTOM LINE: Biased and opinionated as ever, Michael Moore does at least make you stop and think hard about the inequality of the American Health Care system in this insightful and clever documentary.

THE GOOD: Michael Moore has a penchant for exaggeration and highly-opinionated bias, but he does a great job at stirring your thoughts on issues he chooses to cover. In ‘SiCKO’, Moore has the American health care system in his sights, and his main point is that it has been hijacked by powerful insurance companies who are in the business to make money and not to provide health care. In many cases, it is difficult to not be sympathetic to Moore’s cause, as with his other documentaries. When Moore spends time talking to industry insiders who unravel the true nature of the system, and how insurance companies will do anything to get out paying out claims, you cannot help but feel angry. Moore also takes shots at the right-wing establishment thought processes that providing government funded health care is akin to socialism. On this point, the documentary makes some fascinating points, shedding light on America’s obsession with anti-communism and anti-socialism, and a fear that these ideologies will re-surface if items such as health care are taken over by the government. Moore rams this point home when he visits other countries, notably the United Kingdom and Canada, who in Moore’s eyes have miraculous health care systems that do not put undue pressure on the general public and give them what should be a basic human right. His trip to Cuba is perhaps one of the most insane stunts Moore has pulled, but you have to wonder what is wrong with the system if detainees in Guantanamo Bay are getting better health care than the average American. ‘SiCKO’ is Michael Moore doing what he does best; making a whole lot of noise, albeit over the top in some places, but all designed with the intention of making you think of challenging the established order, and not to be afraid of those in power who are out to protect their own financial interests.

THE BAD: Moore’s tendency is always to go over the top and to exaggerate to make his points. As with all his other documentaries, he seems to ignore facts that do not suit his argument, which in the end can invalidate the overall good message he is trying to convey. Although Canada and the United Kingdom have better health care systems in place for their citizens, it is unlikely to be as easy to deal with as he suggests. His stunt in Cuba makes some great points, but it is highly unlikely the vast majority of Cubans would get the same level of health care as those Cubans he depicts in this film, given that country’s status on the human development index. It is the inherent contradiction in Moore’s self-presentation that he has to make a lot of biased noise to get attention, but the same biased noise may partially invalidate his position. One can only imagine the type of influence he could yield if he took a more measured approach to his filmmaking.