Review – JKF

Yes, I know. Anyone giving JFK 5-stars is immediately branded a conspiracy theory nut or some other fringe creature. Do I believe a single shooter killed President John F. Kennedy? No. I’m not certain exactly what I believe as it tends to follow questions I both ask or hear. I am firmly confident this was not a lone gunman whose cheese slipped off his cracker. Sadly we all got to see what that looks like when some mentally unstable individual walked up to President Ronald Reagan and shot him.

I did like Oliver Stone’s showing of the questions as this movie unfolded. Kevin Costner did an amazing job with the acting. He really disappeared into character.

A Question Nobody Thought to Ask

One question I honestly had not heard until this movie came out was posed by one of the investigators. It went something like this

I can’t figure out why he orders a traceable weapon…
…to a P.O. box, when he can go into any store in Texas…
…give a phony name and walk out with an
untraceable rifle.
To frame him, obviously!

I like many others I suspect, grew up in a region of the country which had point of sale registration of firearms. The concept of being able to walk into a retail store and pay cash for a completely untraceable weapon was completely foreign to me. But, according to historians and people I know who live in Texas, that’s the way it was. Buying a rifle was like buying a set of wrenches. You pay your money and walk right out.

Magic Bullet Theory

Having grown up rural and done some shooting I must say that I have never seen a bullet go through something and come out anything other than deformed. The dialog discussing the “magic bullet” theory was always the question which bothered me.

It’s known as the “magic bullet” theory.
The magic bullet…
…enters the President’s back, headed downward at a 17-degree angle.
It then moves upwards to leave Kennedy’s body from the front of his neck…
…wound #2…
…where it waits 1.6 seconds…
…presumably in midair, where it turns right, then left… …right, then left…
…and continues into Connally’s right armpit.
Wound #3.
The bullet then heads down at an angle of 27 degrees, shattering his rib…
…and exiting from the right side of his chest.
Wound #4.
The bullet turns right, reentering Connally’s body at his right wrist.
Wound #5.
Shattering the radius bone…
…the bullet exits Connally’s wrist,
wound #6…
…makes a dramatic U-turn, then buries itself in Connally’s left thigh.
Wound #7,
from which it later falls out…
…and is found in almost pristine condition…
…on a stretcher in a corridor of Parkland Hospital.
Some bullet.

One has to understand I, like most of you reading this, was not yet born when all of this took place. Reading about it later in life is when I started to form opinions on the sordid affair. This movie really went a long way when it came to painting a full picture showing both official view and most/many/all of the conspiracy theories.

The JFK Records Act

It should come as no surprise then that, as a result of this movie, the 1992 JFK Records Act was passed. On October 26, 2017, unless there is Presidential intervention (which there was), all 37,000+- documents will be released without redactions. I would not be surprised if the studio got together with theaters around the country to re-release this movie on that day. It would seem fitting to let people see it on the big screen one more time when all of the documents are scheduled for release. It would also be a major sledge hammer forcing the government to comply with said act.

We may never be able to prove there was anyone on the grassy knoll or it may all be there in the documentation originally deemed “not relevant.” One thing is certain. The movie JFK made that happen and if for no other reason it deserves not only a 5-star rating, but you taking the time to watch it.

For more movie rental ideas please see list one and list two.