Review of Charlie Wilson's War (2007) by Chinedu O — 12 Apr 2011

A Cliff's Notes version of American involvement in the Afghan / Soviet war in the mid '80s, this covered quite a bit of ground in a relatively short amount of time. Tom Hanks's Wilson is a charismatic, entertaining character with the talent to always come up with the right words for the moment, but he's upstaged every time he shares the screen with Philip Seymour Hoffman's thick-spectacled CIA op, Gust Avrakotos.

The two make for a dynamite pair that can cover extremely deep, complicated topics in casual conversation without seeming overly technical or dull, which was certainly a huge risk in a film that spends so much time behind closed doors in Washington.

Julia Roberts can't even begin to keep up, and makes for an uncomfortable fit when she's crammed into their scenes together. An important history lesson, and a brief glimpse behind the staged photos and forced smiles of the political meet-and-greet, this sheds a lot of light on our modern standing in the middle east.