A sequel to a 2003 documentary I first saw back in high school, the 17 years between that film and its sequel has certainly given The New Corporation a great deal of material to cover in its 106-minute runtime. It argues that corporations have become sneakier and more fake-friendly since the 2010s, seeing as tides have changed a little, and the blatant disregard for human lives isn't something they're able to get away with as easily (the 2003 original spent almost 2.5 hours diagnosing the corporation as a psychopath, or at least saying the concept of a corporation would be a psychopath if it were a person).
With a great deal of topics and issues to tackle, The New Corporation is worryingly scattershot at first. It doesn't always feel like it has much of a reason for existing in its opening scenes, and feels underwhelming and a little tired as a result. It does considerably pick up steam at a point, and thankfully became very interesting after its shaky start. It takes some complicated, difficult ideas and explains them very well; certainly in a more competent and understandable way than some YouTube videos I've seen on issues surrounding capitalism and corporate influence on politics.
I feel like it reverts to the messiness of the opening scenes in its closing scenes, unfortunately. It covers some 2020 events that are important issues, but doesn't always do the best job at linking them to issues surrounding corporations (there should be documentaries about the George Floyd protests, but maybe not this documentary - there are some loose connections to the main issues of The New Corporation, but it's not as relevant as some of the other things discussed).
It does also let a few politicians off the hook, but the fact it often comes back to "the system doesn't work; we need a new system" makes the criticisms of conservatives feel less pro-centre-left and more just against the system that lets conservative parties do damage. Others may feel differently, though; that's to be expected when politics enter into a documentary, but I don't think they could've avoided getting political altogether here.
