gmanca

I thought it was very good with a great follow-through on the story and the connections of his relationship with his father and the War. Stone could have gone of on a blow-by-blow, showing the intent to strike was present from January '01, but did it in a very clever way with the '92 election loss.

I actually think Glenn as Rumsfeld was spot on and his speech in the Situation Room really summed up how well he played that role. And i think Newton was Rice, period; she had Rice's diction and voice down and I would have liked a little more of her because her relationship with Bush is closer than the film portrayed vis-a-vis Tenet and his intel.

But more importantly was Wright's role as Powell, which was very succinct and he'd be worthy of an Oscar nomination if it wasn't for Cromwell's Bush 41.

PopcornTreeCt

I agree. I meant how much he's fallen since JFK.

toddly6666

Why is the majority of voters "never going to see this film?" Are these democrats that don't want to support Bush? Or are these republicans that don't want to support a movie that they think bashes Bush?

PopcornTreeCt

Maybe it's option C - Oliver Stone sucks.

Brack

I dunno, but I find it fascinating that so many clicked on a review thread of a movie they had no interesting in seeing.


Anyway, I thought it was pretty good. It did feel like there was something missing, but then again, maybe that was the intent, since, well, Bush seemed to be lost every step of the way. In that sense, this was a masterpiece.

Thrush

As a dyed in the wool progressive I'm certainly no Bush fan, but thats how I have always seen him. Sort of like a child emperor. In way over his head and completely inept, yes. But I blame the people around him more so for the failures of his presidency. They at least have sense enough to have known better. Bush is just along for the ride.

Daytripper

Huh!? I've seen countless Rice interviews and not once did she ever sound the way Newton did in the film.

gmanca

I would agree that at times, she was a bit shrill, but there were times were it was pitch-perfect; the round-table in the Gulf, the Chirac scene, and the Blair scene.

Which reminds me, I hope the DVD release is a director's cut without the terrible "motherfricker" overdub. There's a few scenes that are missing that were filmed.

GLENDALEFALCON

Newton looked at YouTube clips of people taking video of her with their cell phones when Rice didn't know she was being filmed. I think that's where she got a lot of her material, so maybe it isn't the Rice we're all used to watching CNN and MSNBC.

GLENDALEFALCON

I think that's what Stone was after. Bush is an empty person and the film should reflect that.

Daytripper

I'm sorry, but that makes no sense to me. I can't see where Rice's voice would change that much from a sit down television interview to someone recording her with a cell phone or personal video camera. And where did you hear this about Newton. If it's true, that's not only bizarre, but interesting.

Here's the Condoleezza Rice everyone knows

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIiBzX7b1og

Newton delivered her entire performance through her nose like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK2ankGTdpc

The Bus

W. isn't the worst film of the year, but it may be the year's most lifeless. This is not to fault Brolin & Co. all who turn in good performances, but failed to transcend the characters they represented. The film lacked any passion and soul, and it's hard to argue that this was Stone's (and Weiser's) intent. I've been more entertained reading Wikipedia articles about toilettes. Sadly, I wish I was using hyperbole.

This film lacked subtlety. Yes, I know this is Oliver Stone we're talking about. I loved Natural Born Killers. But Stone, I think, aimed to tone himself down here and, in the process, lost out on what made him such a provocative director. Worse, when he does amp things up, they're apparent from a mile away and such easy targets, that they lose most of their impact.

Early on, there's some sparkle of originality and new direction, but it gets buried under an uninteresting by-the-numbers narrative that by the time we near the two-hour mark, the film feels twice as long. I checked my watch more times in the last half hour than I did during the entire four-and-a-half-hour showing of Che. The movie, coming in during the final months of the presidency, lacks the immediacy and urgency of more timely movies like Fahrenheit 9/11. And enough time hasn't passed so someone can properly take apart GWB's life and put it back together to offer us fresh perspective. The movie, like the man, is a lame duck.

hasslein

I despised George Bush from the moment I first heard him speak, but after seeing the film, I really feel for the man now, Forrest Gump seeking approval of his father, duped into an atrocity... Especially now, watching last nights election results, isolated in the white house, disgraced... Truly sad...

The film, although flawed, I hated the frat boy scenes, really stuck with me....