The film makes some thought provoking moral distinctions between suicide bombing as a weapon of war for those without access to high tech weaponry (e.g. would it really be so different if a fighter dropped a bomb on the military convoy from a plane instead of attached to his chest?™) and as a weapon of terror used against civilians. It also does not deny that some who have used it as a weapon have done so after suffering heavy losses from others, instead of simply reducing them to crazy people acting in an irrational vacuum. It traces the roots of martyrdom in Islam back 1400 years, and explains how that history was twisted by the leaders in Iran to justify suicide bombings in spite of strict Islamic laws against suicide. Yet, in spite of the intensity and complexity of the subject, the dramatic, sometimes upsettingly graphic footage, and the somewhat over the top music, it starts to get a little repetitive and flat. And it curiously ignores other historical suicide bombings, like the Japanese Kamikaze WWII pilots, declaring that suicide bombing was "˜invented" by Iran in the war with Iraq.

Cult of the Suicide Bomber stands as one of the best documentaries of the last 10 years along with the Power of Nightmares and Bowling for Columbine. The number one thing that makes this great is the access: you get to hear in their own words the thoughts of the failed suicide bombers as well as the families and recruiters of those that were successful. Baer has a laconic, Philip Marlowe delivery and you can tell that this is a subject he his passionate about and willing to take great risks to his safety to explore. Atmospheric, challenging and a rare example of really intelligent television. One criticism is that it would take more than the two programmes so far to actually get to the bottom of this phonomenon and in that sense it is a partial account. Watch it as it is really worthwhile but also read up afterwards.

The documentary, if it is factual and accurate, explains the plight of today's World. It is quite well-paced and it captures the emotions and motives of the suicide bombers and their families. Robert Baer needs to be congratulated for his courage. The scenes depicted in the film were heart-wrenching and pathetic. An entire generation of people have been duped into believing that suicide bombing is the pathway to martyrdom and salvation. However, I am not even trying to blame anyone for this, since it would point to a vicious cycle of blame games. I am not sure of the solution to this problem. But, I can clearly see the reason behind all these problems, Religion. Religion can be a very deceptive tool used by certain people to carry out their interests. The film shows how young kids look up to these suicide bombers as their heroes. I don't see any light ahead of the tunnel, if the cult of the suicide bomber is allowed to sustain and breed.

First off I am a big fan of Robert Baer. I have read all of his books and enjoy listening to his commentary whenever he gets called on to be a talking head on the news networks. So I was quite excited to find this doc on the torrents. Not the best documentary in the world, but certainly well worth seeing. It's a bit rough around the edges for sure, but I think with a few more docs under his belt he will hopefully develop his skill more. If anything, its worth seeing just for the scenes in Iran where standing on a side stage, prone to an audience of thousands, the cleric in the mosque is calling for the death to America. Holy crap! That's guts to stand there with literally thousands of people chanting for the death of you and your country.