My Scientology Movie

New look at well-charted territory adds just enough to justify its existence.

One of the best documentaries of the year.

While My Scientology Movie provides a very entertaining tour of some of the questions that swirl around Scientology, viewers who've followed the story through the years will find little that's new or unexpected.

Theroux raises troubling questions about psychological warfare and how devoutness shades into fanaticism.

At times it plays like an extended skit on "The Daily Show"; yet its disorder also makes its insights - like how strongly the church's training sessions resemble acting classes - feel refreshingly organic.

The film's a little choppy as Theroux takes side trips to interview other former Scientologists, but it comes together as a chilling look at America's most famous 20th-century homegrown religion.

There's not a lot of shockingly new information per se, but watching Theroux filming covert Scientologists while they in turn film him, and so on, has its own sort of meta-charm.

He's not content to copy Alex Gibney, whose 2015 documentary [Going Clear] provides a stunning inside look at the religion... No, Dower is more of an entertainer, and he imbues his storytelling style with a somewhat lighter touch.

(Theroux) doesn't really get anywhere in his attempts to discuss and understand Scientology, but his exploration is nonetheless entertaining.

... on its small scale it is one of the most entertaining and fun documentary watches in years.

Despite the disingenuous premise, the movie stands as an entertaining and alarming companion to Gibney's more comprehensive Going Clear (which was in production about the same time).

My Scientology Movie isn't particularly deep-Alex Gibney's Going Clear comfortably remains the definitive film on this subject-but Theroux tackles what you might already know in a wryly compelling way.