Noriega: God's Favorite VHS

I lived in Panama from 1985 to 1988, and remember quite well some of the events portrayed in the movie. Of course a movie of 2 hours can not be expected to tell the entire history of Panama and the actions of General Noriega. Since I speak Spanish and knew many local people, I was able to understand current events. I thought the murder of Dr Hugo Spadafor was a terrible thing, as well as the suffering of the Panamanian people. From the time of my arrival to Howard AFB, we were instructed to respect and obey the laws of Panama as well as the PDF and local police. We were not allowed to carry guns nor wear a military uniform off base. As military personnel, we were taught that we had no right to intefere in the local politics. I thought that the United States building the Canal and our presence was a good thing, since we supported the economy and made many local friends. Therefore, it is my opinion that the movie was a reasonable brief synopsis of the life of Gen Noriega, although it left out many details of the suffering of the Panamanian people, and could have been much improved had it revealed more of the facts.

This is a too-long and too-talkative account of the streetwise thug who brutalized his countrymen as the military ruler of Panama in the 1980s. Bob Hoskins is believable as Manual Noriega but he can't overcome all of the dialogue and a leisurely story shot mainly indoors. You keep wishing for action tied to real or believable Panamanian locations to create a sense of locale. The co-villain, the U.S., isn't really nailed for its thuggery in sending in some 25,000 troops to capture the head of a country who had been a longtime informant for the CIA. As a result of Operation Just Cause, a classic wrong name if there ever was one, an estimated 2,500 to 5,000 Panmanians were killed and an entire poor neighborhood was obliterated; it has not yet been rebuilt completely. The movie does claim at the end that drug trade in Panama has doubled since Noriega was removed; the elder Bush, president at the time, had been miffed that Noriega also was helping the Colombian drug cartel. Hoskins makes a nice try but the movie misses the mark.

For people who gave this movie 1 star, let me give you a little knowledge. Consider this?NUMBER 1: First when these movie directors and producers make these movies they want to put as much truth and useful information as possible. However, they only have full access to public information but when it comes to getting more information between governments (Panama & the USA), they are limited to certain resources and they are instructed as to how much they can reveal. For example: When Spike Lee made the movie Malcolm X; he wanted to put other things in the movie especially how he impacted certain burrows in NY. However, the state of NY, police department and other agencies told him what he could & couldn't do. He tried to put the truth in which was never mentioned in any biography that has ever been written about Malcolm X. Another thing ( It's a reason why they call music & movies; ENTERTAINMENT). The writers, directors, and publicists can't do as they please. They have to get information from certain resources and sometimes the most important information that is needed is what is limited.

The product arrived broken.

One Panamanian told me on 25 December 2011, that the Christmas after the invation, was the best one everybody in Panama had. Becuase they looted every store and had plenty merchandize and also food that lasted four months. Now that Noriega is back in Panama, 11 Dec 2011; it is time to add more to this movie (after and before the movie). There is more that even the Panamanian people don't know. The movie is ok, but tend to be more like a comedy. The two years before the invation, the US suffered over 1,200 cases of abuse by the Panamanian Defense Forces (PDF). They stopped them to take all the money, beat them, raped their daugthers, wives, even men and sons. Few family members were killed that way. They pulled pistol on their heads and played russian rulette. One time their stopped a school bus full of elementary studenst comming from the base, and hold the bus in the sun for 4 hours until finally someone from the US Ambassy make a deal. Good thing the US Army MP where surrounding the bus so the PDF won't go inside an rape the children. The PDF did the majority of the killing in Panama. They dressed as civilians and shoot at the US Forces from group of Panamanian citizens to draw attention. Many of the dead Panamanian by bullets where from non-US forces caliber ammonution. The Panamanian that died directly from US Forces didn't obeyed check-points or did something stupid to draw attention. The US Forces conducted an evacuation of non-essential personnel and families weeks before that invation. Including many Panamanians because they were spouses, without passport and visas. All Panama knew that, so it was not a surprise the attack was coming. Specially the people from El Chorrillo. The US Forces informed them the day of the invation to get out of El Chorrillo by radio, flyers, and PA Systems; both in Spanish and English languages. Many decided to stay because they don't wanted to loose their belongings. The PDF used El Chorrillo as a Obstacle to the advancing US Force, by setting the whole place on fire. Like that the PDF could have a wall of fire to slow down the forces and lots of dark smoke to prevent direct view from the forces and aircrafts. And what the Panamanian people do on the middle of the shooting? They decided to go shopping, that is why there are too many casualties.