1. BobS

   10

   Fabulous. Funny. Well done. Yes, it might have been executed in a better cinematic way, but who cares. The story, the plot, the acting, and most importantly the message was outstanding. In a nice delicate way it explained how religion -- while it might do very nice things to make people happy and lead nice lives -- is based on fables and stories. As people take those stories and make them absolute truths, they inhibit their ability to have original thought and sometimes do bad things. They can even use the religion as the excuse or rationale to do things that aren't good for others. They claim they can do things because god talks to them. That's why religious extremists can inspire so many illiterate and hopeless people and turn them into terrorists. That's why religions can get people to hate people - like gays, people of other religions, or non-believers. That's why religions can get people not to use birth control even thought population expansion is really bad for the planet. That's why Popes jailed Galileo in the 17th century for having scientific thought that contradicted church teachings. And that's why the religious right today can get all upset about movies like this -- because they see it as blasphemy that challenges their thinking rather than just seeing it as a someone with original thought questioning beliefs that have gotten out of hand.… Expand

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2. JacobC

   5

   The Invention of Lying is half a good movie, which is why it get's half a good score. The first half of the movie is a smartly written and genuinely hillarious comedy, with some moments of pure brilliance you'd expect from Ricky Gervais. However, the second half of the movie is exacly the opposite. Gervais' staunch atheism makes the story take an unexpected, unfortunate and, quite frankly, completely unneccessary turn for the worse. The rest of the movie isn't only boring, it's also a bit preachy and pretentious. It goes from being one of the best comedies of the year to an excuse for Mr. Gervais to express his atheistic views. Religion jokes can be funny if they're done right. Unfortunatly, in the Invention of Lying, they're not. Not only is the second act of the film slightly offensive, it's also annoying and pretty extreme, even for Ricky Gervais. If you're an atheist you'll probably enjoy this movie a lot more than I did. But as someone who wasn't expecting atheist propaganda snuck into a funny romantic comedy, I found the movie pretty darn dissapointing. I'm a huge Ricky Gervais fan, and while I don't share his beliefs, I respect them. However with this film he took it way too far, as they simply had no place in the movie.… Expand

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3. HarryH

   3

   Really, quite a disappointment. I would say the review by Empire is spot-on, the film isn't so much about telling the truth, but people taking the piss out of Gervais for an hour and a half. The film lacks a decent stroyline and character development. There are are occasional laughs, which are used to make the trailer. Wouldn't advise the film, but have met people who did enjoy it.… Expand

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