"Branded" is a 2012 film you must see, it stars Ed Stoppard and Leelee Sobieski. The movie was also known as The Mad Cow in the USA, but that was just its working title and you would never see it today. In the US alone, the movie grossed $350,000, but due to harsh reviews was almost immediately shunned. Critics did not like how the trailer overhyped a thriller story that turned out to be anything but action-packed or gory. If you still aren’t convinced of this movie’s mass hating, just read the 7,800 reviews that gave it a 4.7/10 rating.

The story follows a man who realizes that brands control the populations and his epic attempt to bring back power to the nations. Misha (Ed Stoppard) is one of the top Russian marketing executives and Abby (Leelee Sobieski) is the ambitious girl with whom he lives. Misha is told in a vision to perform the Hebrew ritual of sacrificing a red heifer and once he does, it changes his perspective forever. Things start out slow and then pick up quick when Misha finds out that the world is extremely cryptic; brands aren’t just ideas, they are living beings and monopolistic companies are using them to live like kings. Misha decides to put a stop to all of the monotony and discovers once and for all his true destiny, to use his skills to manipulate the markets and undo years of evil during the film’s final 10 minutes.

Personally, I cannot recommend this movie any higher, but if I said it was good that would make me a liar. You need to first watch the trailer (which you can find at the link below) to fully understand why critics hate this show. The commercial for this film is intense and exciting, but the movie itself is boring and uninviting. The film is a message for any who can see just how powerful brand management can be; no matter who you are you can be manipulated, especially by tycoons who you have always hated. But there is also hope to overrule the here-and-now and apparently all you have to do is slaughter a red cow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRiuZIuwxnQ