Charlie Wilson's War

Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Shiri Appleby, Ned Beatty
Directed by: Mike Nichols
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
2007

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Playboy Congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) teams with a Texas socialite (Julia Roberts) and a CIA operative (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to help the Afghan people fight back against the Communist Soviet Union.

Review:

Tim: I really liked this movie. As you know, I am a huge Tom Hanks fan. While this wasn't his best performance, he is still very good as Charlie Wilson. It is great fun to see him play a silly, less serious role. It is fun to see Hanks with a bit of an unmoral streak to him. The movie itself is a fast-paced, hilarious movie that just crackles wiht terrific dialogue. You can definitely see writer Aaron Sorkin's fingerprints all over this movie.

The cast is terrific. Hanks is always excellent, and I've already mentioned his great performance here. He works well with Julia Roberts, who does very good in her role. I liked seeing two Hollywood heavyweights like Hanks and Roberts finally on screen together. The movie also gets a huge benefit from Philip Seymour Hoffman. Hoffman is absolutely hilarious Gust Avrakotos. I loved every second of him in this movie, and every terrific, memorable line. Hoffman gives the best performance of the film- he is absolutely mesmerizing as a disillusioned CIA operative. His first scene of the movie is a classic. Seeing Hanks, Hoffman, and Roberts together was just incredible.

The supporting cast was good as well. I was glad to see Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, and Shiri Appleby with small roles, and its always good to see Ned Beatty on screen. The cast is one of the film's strong points.

I have to mention that this movie works well because on one hand, it is an important dramatic political movie about one of the greatest secret wars in recent history. However, the movie is also incredibly funny. These characters all come to life, flaws and all, and you'll find yourself truly enjoying this movie.

Charlie Wilson's War is a very good movie. While I was disappointed it wasn't viewed by critics as one of the year's best, it still ranks as a very solid movie. It is entertaining, fun, and offers a bit of a history lesson. What more could you expect from a movie?

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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