Actually, that's not far overstated. This 2003 documentary intersperses clips of actual Wal-Mart commercials, pieces of speeches by Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott, interviews with employees and ex-employees, news footage, and a lot of 'you are there' shots (factories in other countries, for instance).

This is a subject that is getting more and more exposure in the media- movies, books, news, you name it. And it's true: Wal-Mart is indeed taking over the country, it's hard to stop, especially with government subsidies, they don't pay or treat their workers well, they're union busters, and they do destroy small town america wherever they go.

It's easy to say that if nobody shopped there or worked for them, they'd go out of business, but a lot of people don't have that choice: if they're the only place in town that's hiring, then people will work for them. If people don't have enough money to make ends meet, they're going to shop at the cheapest place they can find, and everyone knows where that is.

Personally, although I hate their policies and deplore their methods, I do think that if their goal is to make money over any other consideration, damn! have they done a good job! But I wouldn't be surprised if their time is coming to an end...either Wal-Mart will collapse under its own weight when it can no longer expand, or so many people will become outraged that the federal or state governments will force the business to pay benefits and decent wages, and stop subsidizing it...and then, like a dying behemoth crashing into a nest of ants, it'll take down a lot of people when it goes...but it will go.

Diatribe aside, this was a well-made documentary in the style of Michael Moore: lots of interviews, brief statistical summaries, using the opponent's own words/commercials to prove the filmmaker's points, and a great deal of emotional content.

Whether or not you agree with their findings, an interesting film about a modern phenomenon.