Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
Average Rating: 7/10
Reviews Counted: 194
Fresh: 158 | Rotten: 36
Charlie Wilson's War manages to entertain and inform audiences, thanks to its witty script and talented cast of power players.
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Critic Reviews: 45
Fresh: 36 | Rotten: 9
Charlie Wilson's War manages to entertain and inform audiences, thanks to its witty script and talented cast of power players.
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Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 207,955
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Movie Info
Produced by Tom Hanks, written by Aaron Sorkin, and directed by Mike Nichols, this adaptation of George Crile III's incendiary bestseller tells the remarkable story of the Texas congressman whose efforts to prevent the Red Army from overtaking Afghanistan eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union while simultaneously fueling the rise of radical Islam. In the early 1980s, a hastily assembled army of Afghan "freedom fighters" achieved the remarkable feat of fending off Soviet invaders
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Cast
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Tom Hanks
Charlie Wilson -
Julia Roberts
Joanne Herring -
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Gust Avrakotos -
Amy Adams
Bonnie Bach -
Ned Beatty
Doc Long -
Emily Blunt
Jane Liddle -
Om Puri
President Zia -
Ken Stott
Zvi -
John Slattery
Cravely -
Denis O'Hare
Harold Holt -
Jud Tylor
Crystal Lee -
Peter Gerety
Larry Liddle -
Brian Markinson
Paul Brown -
Christopher Denham
Mike Vickers -
Tracy Phillips
Belly Dancer -
Wynn Everett
Charlie's Angel -
Mary Bonner Baker
Charlie's Angel -
Rachel Nichols
Charlie's Angel -
Shiri Appleby
Charlie's Angel -
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Charlie Wilson's War Trailer & Photos
All Critics (195) | Top Critics (45) | Fresh (164) | Rotten (37) | DVD (19)
Hanks may at first seem like an unlikely choice to play a seasoned Texas playboy bachelor, but he's so ingratiating that he almost pulls it off.
Top Critic[Philip Seymour Hoffman's] rumpled, cranky spy is hilarious--George Smiley by way of Jack Black--but with an edge of quiet ferocity that makes every scene he's in play a little sharper.
The performances are likeable and entertaining, while Nichols pumps the whole proceedings with a satisfyingly fluid, dramatic energy.
Nichols and Sorkin have made a Cadillac of a movie, a handsome, beautifully designed chassis with a powerful motor and luxurious attention to detail.
Maybe it wasn't his fault those chickens came home to roost in the form of the Taliban, but you have to wonder: Would Nichols have given Oliver North such an easy ride?
It's a homerun.
Set the irony meter at eleven and enjoy.
The satire darkens not into sobering relevance but into wishy-washy 'relevance'
The international intrigue becomes strained satire -- what's needed is the comic touch of a Billy Wilder.
Charlie Wilson's War features two characters who know how government is supposed to work. They also know it doesn't work as it is supposed to, so they have to subvert the system and go beyond it.
Hanks' performance as Wilson is tone-perfect, capturing both the public-servant seriousness and playboy rakishness of his character. And he does it without breaking a sweat.
Charlie Wilson's War is both funny and entertaining. In fact, as far as making political points, you kind of have to look for them.
At a short 93 minutes, it feels as though Charlie Wilson's War was hacked up in the editing room, leaving the bare bones of the structure but little of the really juicy meat.
All of the actors clearly relish the film's fast and busy pace, smart dialog and vivid characterisations.
Hanks does a great job, brimming with the sort of charisma and charm that the real Charlie Wilson presumably had in spades.
...succumbs to an overly and relentlessly talky vibe that prevents the viewer from connecting to the film's story or characters.
The movie never addresses the pressing questions raised in Crile's nonfiction page-turner. It also never encourages the viewer to consider that a solitary congressman appropriated more than $40 million of taxpayer money for his cause.
This film may be based on real events but it plays out like a sharp and often absurd political satire.
Charlie Wilson's War" is intelligence to be savored appreciatively.
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Latest News on Charlie Wilson's War
April 24, 2013:
Mike Nichols Wants One Last Thing Before I GoHe's in talks to direct an adaptation of the Jonathan Tropper novel about a ne'er-do-well former...
April 24, 2008:
RT Interview: Charlie WilsonCharlie Wilson's War tells a tale of political intrigue, backroom dealings, and debauchery so wild...
April 21, 2008:
RT on DVD: Cloverfield, Charlie Wilson and 2008's Worst-Reviewed FilmIt's a bird! It's a plane! It's a Slusho, whatever that is! Cloverfield stomps its way onto DVD as...
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