Watch Charlie Wilson's War For Free

You won't be disappointed!

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

The subtext of this film is that Charlie Wilson's War is still raging in Afghanistan but the USA has replaced the Soviets because they allowed a vacuum to develop in a country after the the Soviet withdrawal where the Taliban amongst other groups stepped in.Writer Aaron Sorkin and director Mike Nichols should have gone for dark, subversive satire with Charlie Wilson, a Democrat congressman from Texas known for some good time partying who somehow built an alliance that led to a covert military campaign to arm the Mujahideen in 1980s Afghanistan and repel the Soviet invaders.What we get is a strained, anaemic film with broad and uneven comedy that barely hits any targets and just about carried by the charm of its star, Tom Hanks helped by Philip Seymour Hoffman's blue collar, truculent CIA operative with Julia Roberts as a wealthy socialite and anti commie Texan with an array of international connections that helps Wilson.Maybe current events in the Middle East at the time this film was made meant that it had to pull its punches and come across as wishy washy.

Charlie Wilson's War (2007): Dir: Mike Nichols / Cast: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Emily Blunt: Provocative drama about one man's journey into overthrowing the Soviet Union. Congressman Charlie Wilson embarks on a quest to send arms to Afghanistan whom are at war with the Soviets. Attitude and placement of humour are off balance but director Mike Nichols advocates a strong point of view. He also presents Wilson's flaws verses his accomplishments. Nichols is an accomplished director with such titles as The Graduate and The Birdcage. Tom Hanks is superb as Wilson who holds his own under the spotlight of the media. Julia Roberts plays Joanne Herring whom establishes his contacts. What really works here is how the screenplay doesn't play off a romantic fling and presents these individuals as people. Strong supporting work by Philip Seymour Hoffman who steals scenes as a foul CIA agent. Amy Adams also steals moments as Wilson's administrative assistant. Other roles are not quite as broad, and Emily Blunt is featured amongst actors who have had more challenging roles. What is interesting is that she holds strong even in the company of such famous leads. The film is well made, ranking as one of Nichols's best efforts. Interesting film about the defeat of the Soviet Union through one man's dealings. Score: 8 ½ / 10

Oh, an interesting watch, entertaining, yes. But disturbing in its one-sided portrayal that what Charlie Wilson and the rich of America did to undermine 'Russian atrocities', committed from high-flying helicopters, was good. OR was their complete, dope complacency inside America during this period of time that, when the Yank did this using drones from on high after 2001, 'someone else!' had better not dare to play Wilson's game in the support of radicals, like ISIS?Oh, maybe the movie is 'honest' (? according to quick research I did, it is not exactly true to history) to only 'some details', but it is at least a must watch to spur the debate as to why, nearing a decade later, we allow lies from all sides to define what 'good democracy' is.... while the rich continue to play their self-serving, high-paying influence games... not really caring about what happened to cause the Russians to enter the destitute nation of Afghanistan in the first place... that part of the story is vainly glossed over.Where was 'peace advocate' Jane Fonda when all of this was going on? Exercising her love handles away for the sake of 'that rich guy' who eventually dumped her anyway?

Charlie Wilson's War walks a bizarre and uncommon line between political drama and playboy comedy. You won't find many films out there like it. Therefore, what Mike Nichols and co create on screen is a novel, entertaining film with a serious story to tell. It tells the story of Charlie Wilson, a playboy Texas Congressman who finds himself in an easy but very powerful position. His district doesn't want much, so he gets to vote yes a lot. And when a powerful woman in his district becomes passionate about the cause, Charlie finds himself in Afghan refugee camps and his view of the world changes.Aaron Sorkin is a master of words, but I won't pretend that Charlie Wilson's War is a Social Network or a West Wing. The script of Charlie Wilson's War is a lot weaker than those are. But its still classic Sorkin - politically savvy, full of razor sharp dialogue and has some incredibly memorable moments. Case in point, the scene where Gust Avrakatos screams at Henry Craverly about not giving him a promotion, or the scene in which Wilson meets Avrakatos for the first time. There's a lot of banter going on in this film, even in scenes where you wouldn't expect, and its utterly delightful.Mike Nichols does some great work behind the scenes. The aforementioned scene where Avrakatos meets Wilson unfolds like a play, its really quite special. Avrakatos goes out on door, Wilson's staff come in the other. Wilson picks up his dialogue between both with aplomb. The contrast between two scenes, one in which Wilson is on fire making billion dollar deals and the other he's trying to rebuild, is very powerful and very effective.But there are times where I questioned the choices Nichols and Sorkin made. There are lines of dialogue that really don't fit ("I have no ***** idea who this guy is!" breaks up what is otherwise a master scene between Slattery and Hoffman) and scenes that make even less sense (apparently Joanne gets married during the film, to Wilson's loneliness, but one scene later they openly kiss). Some scenes are funny that shouldn't be, and there isn't as much emotional devastation to the camp scenes as there should be. The film's climactic scene, ostensibly put in because producer Tom Hanks didn't want a sad ending, really screws up the message its trying to make.But the film's strongest asset, and the one that makes up for all of the flaws, is the masterful acting. Tom Hanks is startlingly well cast as Charlie Wilson. At times, he could be an older version of Forrest Gump, he's so jovial and loud. He carries the film's funniest moments and also its more tender ones (even those that don't fit are good because of Hanks). Amy Adams is sweetly adorable as Hanks' executive assistant, with her big eyes and trustworthy nervous smile, she wins the audience over with ease, especially during some of the refugee camp scenes. Julia Roberts is serviceable, showing a bit of talent but mostly just hiding under that huge wig. But it is in this moment where I must dedicate space to Phillip Seymour Hoffman. This is one of my favourite performances of his, and likely his most memorable after Boogie Nights. He's the perfect balance of calm and furious. He nails Sorkin's beautiful words with style, and he creates cinematic gold. What a well-earned Oscar nod, and were it not for Javier Bardem, I think Hoffman might have taken home a second Oscar. Charlie Wilson's War walks an untread path, and comes out unscathed. Its not perfect, but it handles the weird balance very well. Its well-acted, well-scripted and very entertaining, and ultimately, you can't ask for much more.