I have toyed with watching Expelled for a number of months. I was having trouble getting motivated. Nevertheless, I mustered the energy and plunged in. So here is my brief review:
Premise: Those in professional academia find themselves punished if they don't fully adhere to Darwinian biological evolution.
To this end there are a number of interviews and examples.
Premise 2: The questioning of Darwininsm and the entertaining of Intelligent Design is not an adherently religious issue. Creationism is definitely alluded to as junk science.
Characters: Some of the characters are charismatic. Ben Stein is very charismatic in his own calculated dweeby uber-smart way. There is also a scientist who is interviewed in France. Very well spoken. These characters allow the viewer to see the issue as personal as well as scientific.
Arch enemy of all things anti-Darwin Richard Dawkins comes off as reactionary. For the record I detest Dawkins anti-religious views. But creative editing had to be used for such a smart man to always appear in such a negative light.
Conclusion: I would give Expelled a C+. I like the premise of the movie. I like Ben Stein. But like my review on Sicko by Michael Moore, it is clear that the intent was not to enter the marketplace of ideas but to denigrate one side of the argument.
I agree that there is a propaganda machine behind the Darwin position but my suspicion radar goes off when everyone on the other side is portrayed as wrong and reactionary. Smart people come to their conclusions for reasons. Those reasons may be wrong but they have reasons.
I do agree w/ the section which pointed to the real heart of the issue: It's not about science alone. It is about the worldview that becomes the filter for the science.
