Customer Reviews
MIKE NICHOLS, OPUS 20 
2008-10-10
***1/2 2007. Based on George Crile's Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of Our Times and directed by Mike Nichols. Academy award nomination for Hoffman and five Golden Globe nominations. Washington, 1980. A bored American congressman, enthralled by the Afghan war, tries to obtain secret funds in order to buy modern arms for the Afghan guerrilla warfare. I was a little surprised by some of the reviewers here which describe CHARLIE WILSON'S as if the film was a documentary or an accurate account of what really happened in the 80's. IT IS NOT. The movie is a funny satire of American morals in politics, that's all. Enjoy. Recommended.
Great movie for the older members of a family 
2008-09-18
Tom Hawks and Julia Roberts do a good job, but I really think Philip Hoffman who is exceptional as the old, crusty, operative. My wife and I bought the DVD for our viewing and watched a couple of times when our son and daughter borrowed it to watch it with their friends. Everyone has really enjoyed it.
A droll little "Charlie Wilson's War" 2008-09-16
It's been a long time since I've seen a comedy which doesn't have to depend on toilet or sex jokes to make it funny but instead have great dialogue and an excellent cast in order for it to succeed. This film succeeds in spade due to Aaron Sorkin's(The West Wing, A Few Good Men) witty script and top notch performances from Tom Hanks as Wilson and Phillip Seymour Hoffman in an Oscar-nominated supporting performance as a CIA operative. Julia Roberts is also good as the Texas heiress but all the great lines are delivered by Hanks & Hoffman. If you like your comedy or dramedy with a light, droll touch--check this out!! Ironically it's based on a true story.
Its a great story and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is VERY entertaining in it 2008-08-25
This would be a 3.5* movie, except that Phillip Seymoour Hoffman absolutely nails his character and has some outstanding dialogue which is just hilarious. My favorite PSH character since Boggie Nights.
Annoyed and insulted after watching this film. 
2008-08-22
With this cast - how could it be bad? Oh, what a disappointment. This film could've used a large dose of subtlety in many ways while taking the large effort it spent on unimportant BS and using it to drive home more meaningful points.
This was a wasted opportunity to tell an important story of our time no matter on which side of the aisle your politics reside.
I don't know exactly where to place the blame for this collosal load of crap, but here are a few brief observations:
- As for the characters, Hoffman's was very believable while Hanks and Roberts came across like caricatures - annoying and fake.
- Superfluous innuendo. Public butt-grabbing, nude hot tub parties, Congressman Wilson staffing his office with a brood of 25 year old hotties in tight skirts and sweaters, a constituent's daughter who can't keep her clothes on around him.... o-v-e-r-k-i-l-l. Distracting and unnecessary.
- The characters are quickly thrown together without enough background as to how and why. It's never clear, for instance, why Robert's excruciatingly wealthy Houston-based philathropist/glamorous b*tch character was so motivated to get deeply involved in equipping the Afghan people w/arms to fight the Soviets.
- Totally irrelevant side-scenes are thrown in, adding nothing at all - some random constituent visits his office to complain about being sued for displaying a nativity scene in front of a firehouse. Whatever - we get that Wilson is an elected representative. Why waste that time on some meaningless, trivial thing when much more important scenes could've been created that added depth and meaning to this film?
- Not nearly enough about the real politics and struggles surrounding this story. Big, gaping holes are left wide open while the viewer is distracted by the ridiculous triviality of Wilson's libido and drinking habits.
I gave 2 stars because Hoffman is really good and Hanks and Roberts do try - not sure how the dynamics got all screwed up but it can't be blamed wholly on their performances. It baffles me that movies like this get so much hype, and so undeservingly.
Whose War Is It Really? 2008-08-21
Academy Award® winners Tom Hanks Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman star in this compelling and witty film from Oscar®-winning director Mike Nichols and Primetime Emmy®-winning writer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing). Based on the outrageous true story Charlie Wilson's War shows how one congressman who loved a good time one Houston socialite who loved a good cause and one renegade CIA agent who loved a good fight conspired to bring about the largest covert operation in history.System Requirements:Running Time: 102 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/BIOGRAPHY Rating: R UPC: 025195004831 Manufacturer No: 61100565
Excellent movie! 2008-08-17
This is a great movie. The acting is very good. I appreciated the insight into politics, showing a variety of deals and connections, both domestic and international. It is fascinating that the movie is based on a true story. It is not a war movie but a movie about the specifics, the nuts and bolts of politics influencing the outcome of a war in a very concrete way.
entertaining and illuminating 2008-08-14
It's ironic that I watched this movie about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan at a time when a resurgent and newly aggressive Russia is crushing a fledgling democracy in Georgia. It made the experience all the more poignant.
Just taken as entertainment, and leaving aside the politics, I enjoyed this story of how an obscure Texas congressman known mostly for his womanizing managed to fund the Islamic resistance to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The performances were great with the one exception of the heavily-Botoxed Robert. The pace was also quite brilliant -- this movie flashed by.
Of course, the consequences for the United States are well-known and the movie alludes to this in its final few minutes. We defeated the Soviets, won the Cold War but our victory helped give birth to the Taliban and al Qaeda.
I wonder if there's a new Charlie Wilson out there to deal with today's Russian threat. Or have we lost so much in the past five years in Iraq that we no longer have the means, the will or the energy?
Recommended: entertaining and educational.
History better than Hollywood 
2008-08-11
It really is a fascinating story ... One man sees the opportunity to do what his government won't... arm/train a group of militants to fight an enemy who did the same to us for more than a decade in South East Asia. And in doing so handed the U.S.S.R its worst military defeat.
Why we needed so much sex to sell this story, I don't know.
15 minutes are missing from this DVD 
2008-08-10
Having seen this film in the theater, I was very disappointed to discover several scenes were cut from the DVD version, including one crucial one. The most crucial cut concerned the fact that President Reagan's approval was what released the Stinger missile to the Afghans.
Also cut were scenes: Charlie Wilson was sick in the Hospital; his re-elction effort; testing an ineffective missile in Egypt; any more? Anybody know why?
(I also suspect that The Princess Bride now currently shown is missing an early scene that was in the theater version, but I can't confirm this.)
