Review of All the President's Men (1976) by Dustin G — 17 Feb 2011

Is there such thing as a movie being too meticulous and realistic? I think in some cases there is. I might be the only serious film lover around who feels this way about All the President's Men. Alan J. Pakula does a great job directing, Redford and Hoffman are fantastic, the story is interesting and involving. For some reason though, when all these elements come together in this film, the result is an almost two and a half hour movie that seems to run around and around in circles for much of the time. Hoffman and Redford go to people's houses trying to get them to talk, they do this many, many times. Just like the real reporters did. But what the real reporters did was repetitive, boring and more often than not, unhelpful. That is not a documentary I would want to see. And other than the recognizable movie stars that populate this movie, that is what this feels like, a documentary that tries the patience and favours true replication of the story over entertainment value.

This is just my humble opinion though and the movie is not without some great scenes. For the most part though, this could've benefited from a more 'popcorn' friendly treatment.