Charlie Wilson's War

I'm appreciating any film that casts light on the current hotspots in the world. This is a very compelling story about this hapless politician, and Tom Hanks played this part very well. His comic background aids in his ability to appeal and be likeable (I can't believe he could play an truly unpleasant part unpleasantly--and I am not aiming to damn by faint praise here). Philip Seymour Hoffman's entrance was unsurpassing...His chemistry with other characters worked. Julia Roberts' performance was a trifle stilted, I found. She delivered some lines well, but didn't quite fade into this character. While the film has funny parts, it does not deliver a funny story. The challenges in Afghanistan are so very many.

I'm simply going to give my impression of the movie. Real history is always messier and more complicated. Movies can not depict real history in only a couple of hours. Movies are for entertainment.

Movies that are smart and witty are rare, but this is definetly one of them. Be prepared though, the dialog is fast and furious -- you will likely need to watch it twice in order to catch it all.

Without giving any spoilers:

Charlie Wilson is a whiskey drinking, womanizing, congressman from Texas whose greatest achievements during his six term tenure are being re-elected five times. His constituents from Texas don't ask for much, which allows him to be a "Yes" voter on almost any bill put before congress. This, in turn, gives him a pocket full of IOU's. While chasing tail, he is given a mission and decides to cash in on all of his IOU's. He has no idea that he is about to influence the course of history.

Gust Avrakotos is a disgruntled old school CIA operative, who is upset that he isn't given the job of being the head director in Finland after spending three years learning Finnish. His supervisor explains that he lacks diplomatic finesse. With little on his plate on the first floor at Langley, he comes across a couple guys upstairs that are doing something more interesting -- "killing Russians".

Charlie Wilson and Gust Avrakotos cross paths, form a friendship, and begin what will eventually become the largest (and most expensive) covert operation in American history.

"Gust Avrakotos is no James Bond, but then again, Charlie Wilson is no Thomas Jefferson."

The two characters have many human flaws, but are likeable. In fact, I found that Gust Avrakotos's character eclipses Charlie Wilson's character in some aspects.

One of my favorite scenes is when Gust Avrakotos gets into an argument with his supervisor. Gust is first introduced during this scene and you can't help but to immediately like the guy, if not even cheer him on. Perhaps this may be because his argumentative style is something all of us have wanted to do with our supervisors at one time or another. Another good scene involves Charlie, Gust, and a bottle of scotch. It is during this scene that the two begin to form a modest admiration of one another.

There were only a few drawbacks that I personally had for the film. One was the southern accent that Tom Hank's attempted. It made quite a bit of his dialog difficult for me to catch the first time around. Another, although much less, drawback that I personally found was that I thought some of the Hollywood'd "war scenes" (embedded inbetween actual war footage) appeared a little on the cheesy side. I think it was the lighting that made it looked a little cheesy.

Overall, I definetly enjoyed the movie though. I enjoyed it even more the second time around as I caught all of the dialog.

As for why America always plays the same "end game"?
"Tradition, mostly."

it was a learning experience seeing this dvd, and know I think I understand what is going on in afanistan today, very good dvd.

Wonderful movie!
I was amazed that this Charlie Wilson was able to accomplish all this. He never gave up and kept pushing for the government to help.

Truly amazing...

Performances are first rate, 'specially Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Roge CIA Agent, the scene with him arguing with his boss was hilarious.

Very engaging movie, check it out!

Absolutely terrific movie. The chemistry between Hanks and Phillip Seymour Hoffman was as good as any you'll ever see.

The story is riveting.