MOVIE REVIEW: W.
10/15/08
SYNOPSIS:
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 his decision to invade Iraq.
REVIEW:
George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States of
America, is also a man, a regular guy who happened to be
born into the prestigious Bush family with a chip on his
shoulder and a silver spoon in his mouth. Living in the
shadow of his father and trying to keep up with his brother
Jeb, he struggles for approval from his family. This movie
tells his story in Oliver Stone style. From his less than
exemplary youth to his determination to make it in the
family business of politics, this film covers the highlights
of his life and gives the viewer an interesting perspective
on this man we call the President. Leave it to Oliver Stone
to direct the first film ever made about a President who is
still in office. You can’t criticize the freshness of the
subject matter. Nor can you criticize the stellar cast and
the make up job to help make each of them look like their
counterparts. It is really quite amazing how well cast each
of them were and how well they looked and sounded like the
person they were playing: Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush,
Ellen Burstyn as Barbara Bush, James Cromwell as George
Bush, Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney, Scott Glenn as Donald
Rumsfeld, Ioan Gruffudd as Tony Blair, Jeffrey Wright as
General Colin Powell, and Thandie Newton as Condoleezza Rice
to name a few. The performance that stands out, fittingly,
is that of Josh Brolin as W. The golden glow of an Oscar
trophy might be shining upon Josh with this performance.
Yeah, I’ll go that far.
Asian Journalist: Mr. President, what place do you think you
will have in history?
George W. Bush: History? In history we'll all be dead!
That may be true but this film will help keep the history of
George W. very much alive. He is just a good ol’ boy from
Texas who went to Yale, was a heavy drinker, and was not
very successful at holding a job for a long period of time.
His seemingly aimless life started to come into focus after
he married Laura, got involved in politics, and had a
religious awakening. He had always been a God-fearing man
but he needed to get jolted to straighten out his drinking
problem and pull his life together. As a result of all that,
his political career took off and the rest, well, is
history. This motion picture takes you up to the first days
of the Iraqi war. No matter what your opinion is of
President Bush you have to admit that the plate he has been
dealt has not been an easy one by far. Many a President or
President hopeful might have dealt with 9/11, the war on
terror, our economic crisis, and all the other prevalent
issues in a better way than he has, but I strongly believe
that many a President or President hopeful might have dealt
with all this in much worse fashion than he has as well.
This movie will show you a George W. Bush who is just a man,
a cowboy from Texas, who becomes the President and in the
midst of all the controversy thrust his way, has the best of
intentions and tries to make the right decisions for the
people of this country. Each of us has the right to agree or
disagree with what he has done as President of the U.S.;
this film simply gives you a little more insight on the man.
I try not to get political in my reviews but it’s kind of
hard not to with a movie like this one. I’m not much of a
fan of political movies anyway unless it’s more historical
in nature. For example, I think the movie Thirteen Days is
an incredible piece of work, and it focused more on the
events and a little less on the President. This movie was
well done and better than I expected though, but then again
I expected to be bored to the point of falling asleep. In
reality, I don’t recall even yawning once. What can you say
about Oliver Stone other than another fine job by a
successful veteran director. He is taking a gamble with a
motion picture of this nature as far as box office pull is
concerned, but I really doubt that box office success is one
of his top priorities when he directs a movie like this. If
you enjoy politics or political movies or even if you’re
just curious, watching this movie might not be a bad choice.
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
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