W.
A life misunderestimated.
Whether you love him or hate him, there is no question that George W. Bush is one of the most controversial public figures in recent memory. In an unprecedented undertaking, acclaimed director Oliver Stone is bringing the life of our 43rd President to the big screen as only he can. W. takes viewers through Bush's eventful life - his struggles and triumphs, how he found both his wife and his faith, and of course the critical days leading up to Bush's decision to invade Iraq.
Member Reviews
W. - Jude
This movie is a fascinating account of the true life of George W. Bush. And what a scary story, hard to believe that this man became President of the United States. The entire cast is excellent, and the "look a likes" are amazing, you feel like you are watching a news cast at times. This movie is definitely worth watching.Okay, but no better - HelexraAscianti
W is a movie that tells a story, one that most people already know, but a story. It tells this story rather well (considering the subject matter). Unfortunately, some casting choices let it down. Whomever played Condi ceratinly looked like her, but when she talked ... wow, sounded nothing like the original. Stone was able to find look-alikes for most of the other major players (Rove, Cheney, Powell, etc.), and they did a good job (especially Cheney). However, as it took place over a period of 20 years, some of the actors looked too young in the later years, even if they had grey hair.
Powell was portrayed as the only sane man in the room, with everyone being under the thumb of Cheney. While this may be close to being what happened (and what was said after he left the administration certainly seems to bear this out), it felt like his lines were forced, even if he delivered a good performance.
Stone, in an odd decision, makes Bush very sympathetic, someone who is out of his depth trying to appease his father. He also portrays Bush Sr. as the president whom Bush Jr. should have tried to emulate. I don't know how true this is, but it it works within the film.
It's an okay movie. As far as biopics go, it isn't the best, nor is it the worst. And it was probably as good as it could be considering how close it was made to the end of the administration, before all the memoirs were written and papers poured over by historians.Some good performances - DaisySteiner
I wasn't dying to see this - merely curious to see how Oliver Stone / Josh Brolin treated this still-living 'character'. The answer is: not bad.
Oddly, I felt sympathetic for him, even though it wasn't a terribly flattering portrait of Dubya. Josh Brolin could have played him up as the idiotic caricature he was, but his performance as W was very three-dimensional, although I'm not sure how much of this is really truthful!
There are some very good performances here. I loved Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush and Thandie Newtwon as Condi Rice (although she barely says more than a word at a time for most of the film). James Crowell is excellent, as usual, although he looks nothing like H.W. Yes, the performances are good, but something about the film is not quite satisfying. It's worth a watch if you're vaguely interested, but it might leave an odd taste... maybe I just don't like feeling sympathetic to Dubya.
Member Reviews
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W. - Jude
This movie is a fascinating account of the true life of George W. Bush. And what a scary story, hard to believe that this man became President of the United States. The entire cast is excellent, and the "look a likes" are amazing, you feel like you are watching ...Okay, but no better - HelexraAscianti
W is a movie that tells a story, one that most people already know, but a story. It tells this story rather well (considering the subject matter). Unfortunately, some casting choices let it down. Whomever played Condi ceratinly looked like her, but when she ...Some good performances - DaisySteiner
I wasn't dying to see this - merely curious to see how Oliver Stone / Josh Brolin treated this still-living 'character'. The answer is: not bad.
Oddly, I felt sympathetic for him, even though it wasn't a terribly flattering portrait of Dubya. Josh ...