Charlie Wilson's War

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

I don't know why this movie is getting such bad reviews. I found it very enjoyable. The triumverate of actors did a very creditable job, especially Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the CIA agent. It tells the tale of big things done by lone individuals, the moral being if you want to beat the russians you've got to do it yourself. Plus, it helps if you have a country full of Afghanis ready to pay the blood price. The one irritation was Wilson's constant plea to get something to knock down Russia's helicopters. We got it the first time. Didn't need to hear it the hundredth. We even got when we saw the Afghanis armed with Lee Enfield rifles from the first world war.

One reviewer questioned the relevance of this story. I guess he didn't stay until the end.

The best part of seeing this movie actually came afterward. The day we saw this movie they had a documentary about the real Charlie Wilson. We got to play the what is made up for the movie and what was real game. They even had Charlie Wilson do sound bites. It was very informative. In light of the fact that Putin, Time magazine's Man of the year, came out and said he's very angry with the United States treating his country like second class world power, I can't see this film helping thaw relations between our two countries.

[Drunk Monk]

...but I can see why the bad reviews. It was candy, but on a serious topic, one that still haunts us. The film had plenty of opportunities to make a stronger statement, or even leave us with more ambiguity, but it fails to deliver on that. It spent too much time with its triumverate, as glynch puts it, which on it's own was entertaining. It might have been better if they just made up everything and went with that.

Still, I agree with glynch on the whole. I was entertained for the duration of the film.