Reviewaplaooza 2007: Charlie Wilson's War

Charlie Wilson's War

Charlie Wilson's War is latest film from Mike Nichols (Closer, The Birdcage) and the latest project from the creator of The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin. The film is a true story; about a Texas Congressman (Tom Hanks) who is an alcoholic womanizer and has covert dealings with Afghanistan. He gets help from a rouge CIA agent who's having problems getting along with his boss. The two of them try to help persuaded Congress into helping the Afghani people fend off attacks of the Soviet Union in the mid eighties. The film was based on the book entitled "Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History" by George Crile. Julia Roberts (Closer, Pretty Woman) and Amy Adams (Enchanted, Junebug) co–star in the film.

If you're looking to see an Academy Award level film, then your expectations will be disappointing. Charlie Wilson's War is a good but not an Academy Award type film. Director Mike Nicolas goes a good job directing here but most of the films flaws lie in Aaron Sorkin's screenplay. Why he was nominated for a Golden Globe for this is beyond me. There were a few problems with it. I felt like a got one side of the story, as it rarely focuses on the Russian side of it. But my major complaint with his screenplay was the last half hour of the film. The last half hour was rushed as the screenplay could have gone into the aftermath of the war a little better than five minutes, as it felt that way to me. The film felt like, it was rushing towards the end in that last half hour of a movie that's not even two hours.

The acting of this film was good. Tom Hanks was all right in this role, but he was a little over the top at time with his performance, as he seemed to enjoy this role a little too much. Both Julia Roberts and Phillip Seymour Hoffman were both very good in their roles. They brought good presences to their roles in the film. They're also the two people in the film that deserved Golden Globe nominations, in my opinion.

Don't' believe in the hype with the Golden Globe nominations for this film. Charlie Wilson's War is a good film but not worthy of it's Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), Best Actor (Musical or Comedy) and Best Screenplay.

3 Stars
Rated R
97 Mins