Charlie Wilson's War is directed by Mike Nichols. The film stars Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ned Beatty, Om Puri, Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Shiri Appleby, Rachel Nichols, Christopher Denham, Ken Stott, and Tracy Phillips. The musical score is contributed by James Newton Howard. The film is based on George Crile's book of the same name. ***

Charlie Wilson's War is based on the true story of Charles Wilson, a Texas Congressman. Wilson is a Congressman, but he's not above womanizing, drinking heavily, and attending lavish parties. The film follows his efforts to get modern weaponry into the Middle East, which at the had been overrun by the Soviet Union. Urged to get involved in the crisis by his communism-dreading casual love interest, he visits the Eastern world and is immediately moved to further help the people in crisis. He teams up with a distraught CIA man who doesn't seem to get credit for his efforts with the company, even after two decades - and the twosome make every effort possible to push for more American support to the troubled Middle Easterners. ***

Ultimately, this film is a mixed bag. The acting and characters are excellent, the pacing dead-on, and the sharp humor adds greatly to the experience. The film is witty and informative, and never outstays its welcome. But it's certainly not perfect. In a lot of ways it's a one-sided story that almost never touches on the aftermath of these events. Because of this, it often feels like the film is glorifying the events it chronicles. Still, despite its flaws, it's a good film for what it is. ***

Acting in this film is top notch, definitely one of the great strengths this film has working for it. The always-excellent Tom Hanks plays the title Congressman, and delivers a terrific performance. He does a great job, playing a man who definitely cares about his political issues, but isn't against partying and drinking. Definitely one of the Hanks' more interesting roles. By far the stand-out member of the cast is Philip Seymour Hoffman, playing Gust Avrakotos, the troubled CIA man who agrees to help Wilson, simply because, in his own words, he's "not doing anything else." The part earned Hoffman an Oscar nomination, which unfortunately, he didn't win (though he should have!) In a lot of ways I found his character more interesting and entertaining than the title character. This guy could easily have been made the main character, and perhaps that would have made for a slightly more memorable movie. Also excellent is Julia Roberts as Wilson's on-again off-again casual love interest. Despite the film's issues, I won't argue with the performances. ***

Despite Mike Nichols' directional style giving the film a feel all its own, which is largely entertaining, the film gets bogged down in too many issues. Mainly, this move only tells half the story - and nothing of the disastrous aftermath. We see the conflict with the Soviets and the Middle East, and when the battle between the two sides is all said and done, the movie wraps up on a positive note. Apart from the occasional quote from Avrakotos and a quote displayed on screen prior to the credits, the aftermath leading up to modern times doesn't get touched on at all. Because of little issues like this, the film has a tendency to feel like it's glorifying the conflict and Wilson's involvement. If you go into the film with little knowledge of the conflict, you'll most likely be left confused at a few points in the film. And even if you do have knowledge, you'll be disappointed that the movie doesn't go more in depth, and explores the aftermath, and the connections with modern, relevant events. ***

Charlie Wilson's War is an enjoyable film. If you're looking for something witty, entertaining, and historically significant, check this one out. I have major issues with certain aspects of this film as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, but despite my reservations, I'll give it a marginal recommendation. --

-Image And Sound:

This was a recent film, and Universal's DVD transfer looks fantastic. There's the usual minor grain in dark scenes, but this is to be expected. As a whole it looks great. The sound in the film is mostly dialogue, and all of it comes across loud and clear. ---

We get a disappointingly small amount of extras on the disc. All that appears here are two features, one of the making of the film, and one on the real-life Charlie Wilson. I found these very entertaining to watch, but the fact is they just aren't enough. The big disappointment comes in the lack of a commentary track.

Final Words: