The first episode in the series that is both compelling and entertaining. Which should be a reach, since most of it takes place in a prison camp. Byron Webster steals the show as Fat Jack, the gluttonous prison commandant who cajoles, riles up, and tortures the prisoners. Must watch.
A definite improvement from the series debut, but still has its flaws, mainly because it's so long-winded. Larry Linville is good as the pacifist preacher who eventually is swayed to the Patriot cause.
Gibney's documentary attempts to sum up Thompson's life through interviews with family, friends, and colleagues, along with revisiting clips from past documentaries and audiotapes recorded by Thompson. But the subject matter proved to be as stubbornly elusive in death as he was alive, for despite the hefty runtime there are numerous inexplicable gaps from a sheer chronological perspective. Turns out to just another bulky compainon piece for your HST collection.
