Fancy Bear. Paul Manafort. Julian Assange. Guccifer 2.0. George Papadopoulos. The Steele dossier. The “Access Hollywood” tape. The FBI’s “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation. James Comey and Roger Stone.
Remember how they all fit together? No? You’re not alone.
Enter director Alex Gibney with HBO’s two-part “Agents of Chaos,” a timely yet dispiriting look at how a whole bunch of Russian dirty tricks helped Donald Trump into the White House — just in time for a possible replay.
“I am interested in figuring out this Trump-Russia thing. What was that all about?” asks Gibney, who has previously made documentaries on Steve Jobs and Scientology. (He also did a film about Julian Assange, who naturally shows up here, too, thanks to WikiLeaks).
“Every time someone asked me what this movie was about, I’d say, ‘Well, how much time do you have?’” Gibney asks at the beginning. It turns out: Almost four hours, which will tax even political junkies.
“Agents of Chaos” is a rabbit hole that’s fascinating but ultimately frustrating. It’s a well-documented account of what seems to have happened in 2016 without breaking much new ground. These days, if you come at the king, you best not miss. If you just recount, you missed.
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