Reviewers have knocked "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" because it doesn't provide a balanced and thorough exploration of the collision between Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and the idea of intelligent design, which is undergoing a revival.

Didn't they read the title? It's a dead giveaway that Ben Stein's film is a cinematic conspiracy theory, the conspirator being the scientific establishment and its victims any scientists or academics who dare to even say "intelligent design," much less teach the theory that life might be driven not by natural selection but by God or some other intentional force.

To Stein's apparent way of thinking, this perceived muffling of scientific free speech is a bigger threat to everything America stands for than the Iraq war, the afflicted economy, international terrorism, inequitable health care and just about anything else that can be imagined.

At the same time, he suggests that Darwinism is to blame for abortion, eugenics and Nazi extermination policies. Stein doesn't actually say "evolution bad, ID good," but there's no question where he stands.

Stein is an actor, game show host, comedian, columnist and former Nixon speechwriter. His method in "Expelled" is to interview prominent scientists on both sides of the issue, traipsing from place to place wearing a thoughtful expression, business suit and sneakers. He's like Michael Moore minus the poundage, baseball cap and leftward tilt.

Between interviews, Stein and director Nathan Frankowski fill the screen with footage from old movies and films including "Inherit the Wind" and "Planet of the Apes." Dire intimations of ID censorship are accompanied by images of the Berlin Wall, totalitarian troops and even Nikita Khrushchev's famous tantrum at the U.N. The footage is variously relevant, puzzling, funny and tiresome.

"Expelled" isn't entirely inconsequential. Stein makes it clear that the careers of certain scientists have indeed been damaged when they appeared soft on intelligent design. And his subjects on both sides repeatedly allude to apparently genuine gaps in Darwin's theory.

The film would carry greater weight, however, if someone had explained those gaps. Even better, it would be nice if, at some point in the film, Stein had suspended his agenda for the few moments it would take to define intelligent design.