Jim: The James Foley Story

Just as they were -unintentionally- making him sound like some kind of international, real-life NIGHTCRAWLER -who's work and demise is used for propaganda- they pulled back. Became a rather boring parade of people saying how lovely he was and what they went through from there.

Well-made, heartfelt documentary was no doubt an effectively cathartic tool for Foley's friends and family; while his time as ISIS hostage is graphically (and often terrifyingly) detailed, the tendency to overly, perhaps understandably lionise the man does little to distinguish the documentary beyond being a slightly overlong TV piece.

A documentary about sacrifice that ultimately just as up as family lip service.

Should've perhaps concentrated a bit more on Foley's amazing work. Slightly less patriotic and one-sided touch would've been nice as well, but otherwise it's a quite touching doc.

Picket fence imperialist propaganda

A doco w/ two distinct halves & an ending the world already knew. We get a brief glimpse of the reason we recognize Foley's face & then dive right into the irresponsible & seemingly fatalist lives of the frontline-conflict journalist. This is compelling stuff & could warrant an exploration of its own. From here, the tone is shifted expertly by Oakes from the obligatory childhood examination through the second Syria expedition, beyond the extended & daunting captive sequence & into the finale

Instead of making this a tribute to the work James Foley did in the war conflicts he reported before being kidnapped and executed by ISIS, this becomes a documentary filled with family and friends saying what a great guy he was and how much they miss him. A closure for his closest. After nearly two hours on focusing on his family and colleagues, and only snippets of James' own story, it gets kinda weary. Still credit to James Foley for following his heart and regardless of such a high price.