Review of: Charlie Wilson's War

4/5 (minimum 1)

by martinp on 15 Jan 2008

He liked busty women. He hated Russians. The representative for Texas' 2nd congressional district organised the biggest covert military operation in history, and played a key role in bringing down the Soviet Union. This film tells the true story of Charlie Wilson's support for the mudjahideen in Afghanistan, with Tom Hanks in the title role. Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing)'s script is packed with funny lines and Philip Seymour Hoffman's CIA agent is an excellent character.

What's most pleasing about the film is that it trusts the audience's ability to think. You see a mudjahideen praying, then firing a rocket. You see a congressman enthusing the Afghan rebels by shouting "Alluhah Ackbar". There are obvious connections with recent events, but they are not spelled out exhaustively.

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Charlie Wilson's War

Tags: afghanistan based-on-true-story congress film julia-roberts movie philip-seymour-hoffman politics tom-hanks
Homepage: http://www.charliewilsonswar.net/
See Also: http://imdb.com/title/tt0472062/