"I Got a Monster" was a highly disappointing documentary that promised to delve into a fascinating and complex story of police corruption, but instead delivered a sensationalized and shallow portrayal of events. While the subject matter is undoubtedly important, the filmmakers seemed more interested in exploiting it for entertainment value rather than providing any meaningful insights or perspectives.
The pacing of the documentary was slow and tedious, with long stretches of talking head interviews that failed to offer any new or interesting information. The editing was choppy and disjointed, making it difficult to follow the timeline of events and keep track of the various players involved. The music was also poorly chosen and often intrusive, adding to the overall sense of disjointedness.
Perhaps most frustratingly, the documentary lacked any real depth or nuance in its exploration of the issues at hand. The filmmakers seemed content to present a one-sided and simplified version of events, failing to engage with the complexities and gray areas of the story. The result was a film that felt shallow and unsatisfying, failing to do justice to the importance and complexity of the subject matter.
Overall, I would not recommend "I Got a Monster" to anyone looking for a thoughtful and well-made documentary. While the story of police corruption is undoubtedly an important one, this film fails to offer anything new or meaningful to the conversation. Instead, it comes across as a cheap attempt at exploitation, more interested in entertainment value than in truly grappling with the issues at hand.
Plot summary
In March of 2017, Baltimore was rocked by one of the nation’s largest Police corruption scandals when seven members of the elite Gun Trace Task Force unit were federally indicted on racketeering charges. Defense attorney Ivan Bates wasn’t shocked by the news because for years he had been listening to the victims of these crimes and had been trying to bring down the corrupt sergeant. I GOT A MONSTER is the true story of a cat-and-mouse game in an upside-down world where the cops are also the robbers.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
March 20, 2023 at 11:26 AM
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Complete waste of time
A tragic story with no happy ending
I appreciate when stories like this actually make it to the public, because I understand how the majority of the millions of other similar stories will never see the light of day due to corruption.
This documentary covers a brief story of the BPD within a few years of some of its officers finally getting caught and convicted for planting false evidence, wrongful imprisonment, and the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars from civilians. Getting a glimpse into what they did to their victims was horrifying, but not as horrifying as knowing that they did this to thousands of others over decades - many who are likely still wrongfully imprisoned. This is made even worse by showing how connected cops were with other units and even the court system - where none of them would listen to the victims and automatically believe cops, without question.
It's a tragic story that also explains the origins of policing and how they were founded on oppression (originally called sl*ve catchers). The same story applies to here in Canada with our North-West Mounted Police (now called RCMP) who were formed to catch Indigenous children and remove them from their families to live residential schools. These rac*st origins have naturally perpetuated systemic rac*sm, causing insurmountable harm to BIPOC communities as a way for police to meet their quotas and for corrupt police to steal money.
Sadly, as the documentary also shows, many of the victims are still suffering from having their money and property stolen (and not returned), PTSD, and dealing with the loss of family members. So although a small number of cops belonging to a corrupt organization - that is still under investigation - got locked away, clearly justice has not been served.
A special thank you to the heroes who work hard to defend these victims. I appreciated how this documentary shined a light on them and their struggle to fight against corruption.
Must watch!
American justice system is a total disgrace if you didn't know this documentary is made in USA it could easily be about a rogue police officer in Iran or somewhere in Mexico! Unbelievable astonishing eye-opening and it shows how Richard you have to be and you have to stand your ground when you're dealing with police force. The fact that four of these officers were black harming black community in Baltimore is unreal!
Anyone who romanticize police forces and how fair this justice system is should watch this documentary alongside many many others to realize what is really happening in the police forces this is the one who has been caught and God knows how many more are out there.