Less would be more: If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise

There are great scenes and great moments in Spike Lee's HBO documentary "If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise" (Part 1), but great moments no matter how many cannot make this a great movie. In fact, it's a mess of a movie - Lee never edits his material and never shapes his material, so what you have in this two-hour first part (!) is a confusing mash-up of materials: starts off as a celebration of New Orleans post Super Bowl victory, so it looks like a celebration of the spirit of a city. Then we pick up on a # of people who were in Lee's previous much-stronger documentary, When the Levees Broke - a where-are-they-now five years later. Then lots of reprise from previous doc. Then looking at some of the NO residents in exile. Then some contrast between the recover in N.O. and in Mississippi. Then some attacks on FEMA for not following through. Then a look at some rebuilt houses, particularly a project that Brad Pitt has led and championed. Lots of interviews with current-day N.O. and Houston politicians (and one with "Brownie) - aside from the lack of focus, there's no evident chronology or organizing principle among these many elements. Going back to N.O. for an update is a great idea, but the very qualities that made Levees a strong 4-part documentary - a clear point of view and a solid sense of time and place - are completely lacking here; this ought to be a one-hour special - less is more.