Given the subject matter of the disingenuous propaganda disseminated by the tobacco industry, it comes as a real revelation to find instead of, say, a retake on The Insider, a verbally adroit defence of marketing as much as of anything. Why? Because while it may not be big, it's clever. Aaron Eckhart's slick anti-hero simply dances smoke rings around his plodding opposition. Reitman & co. doubtless draw hostile fire in abundance for having had the gall to not only make us root for an amoral git constantly looking to get the kids hooked on death sticks, but even neglecting to include pat moralising as a counter-balance. This is not to say that The Man gets away scot-free, but that the film's makers have merely decided to avoid the usual knee-jerk stimuli associated with the topic of big tobacco and thereby allowed the satire to breathe. A genuine if guilty delight - much like cigarettes, in fact.8/10
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