I Am DB Cooper

When all is said and done...it's doubtful you'll leave the film convinced. If only because there are other claimants who have more established ties to the crime, and established evidence. When all this man has is a tall tale he used to dupe his friends and get in women's pants. What makes his story most suspect, is not only the timing of the claim (he clearly tried to use to get out of an aggravated assault charge)...but the fact that he essentially claims that the whole thing was pulled off on a whim, without any planning, or viable knowledge of the aircraft industry whatsoever. Which makes you wonder why they ever even believed him at all. That being said...the recreations in the film are quite well done...even if the investigation it attempts to cover is kind of paltry. So it has that going for it at least. Even if the rest is a bit underwhelming. 5 out of 10.

A fascinating look into one of the many people who have claimed to be DB Cooper. A mix of interviews and recreations focus not on facts, but rather what Rodney Bonnifield knows as "his story." Rodney might be DB Cooper, or a liar, or a kook. The filmmakers leave it to us to decide. The title, after all, is "I Am DB Cooper," not "He is DB Cooper." The recreations are not based on established elements of the case but instead on Bonnifield's storytelling. He is what is called in fiction "an unreliable narrator" - a narrator who is not stating facts of the story, but rather telling their version which may not be objectively true. I do not believe Rodney was DB Cooper. But I was left wondering if maybe Rodney believes he was.

Habitual criminal Rodney Bonnifield tells bounty hunters Carlos Rocha and Mike Rocha that he is the real DB Cooper. He has a tale to tell. In 1971, DB Cooper parachuted with $200k loot from a passenger plane and into infamy as the only unsolved plane jacking FBI case. Rodney is an overweight white guy. He recounts his criminal life with ease and the group sets off to find the rest of the missing loot. Here's the deal. I'm certain that Rodney isn't DB Cooper. That doesn't mean that I'm not taken by his tall tales. It's white trash fun like a lot of 'reality' TV. I have come to accept that most psychopaths are undetectable liars. In fact, people with experience dealing with criminals can often be overconfident in their truth-seeking skills and get tricked. This is stuff of rundown bars and poor trailer parks.