Never one to shy away from challenges, Morris has come up with one of the best documentaries of this or any year.

If there's one movie that ought to be studied by military and civilian leaders around the world at this treacherous historical moment, it is The Fog of War, Errol Morris's sober, beautifully edited documentary portrait of the former United States defense secretary Robert S. McNamara.

The filmmaking is meticulous and the ideas are endlessly thought-provoking.

Though the movie may not change many minds about McNamara, it richly humanizes him, a valuable feat atop all the fascinating reflection.

Errol Morris may have been put on earth to make The Fog of War, a stunning portrait of Robert S. McNamara that closes a year of outstanding nonfiction movies on a high note.

This is spellbinding reality cinema about duplicity and, worse, ignorance at the highest level.

Probing... haunting.

Masterful documentary.

Brilliant.

McNamara speaks concisely and forcibly, rarely searching for a word, and he is not reciting boilerplate and old sound bites; there is the uncanny sensation that he is thinking as he speaks.

In the end, The Fog of War offers a couple of hours of brilliant clarity amid the noise and chaos.

A chilling reminder of the precipice the world stands on nowadays, from a man who looked over the edge more than once.

The film's status as must-see documentary of the year is indisputable.

McNamara fits perfectly into Morris's canon: He tells a story that knocks you right off your feet.