Typically I'm a sucker for a film that explores political corruption. With this in mind, I was relatively excited to go see "Vice" a new biopic about the life of former VPOTUS Dick Cheney.
I didn't leave the theater happy nor disappointed, but rather just "eh, it was fine."
Vice Trailer #1 (2018) | Movieclips Trailers YouTube
"Vice" stars the honorable Christian Bale as Dick Cheney, who clearly takes on the role with great enthusiasm. While he will most likely receive a lot of attention from The Academy was nominations are released, I for one am feeling a little sour about his performance.
While I could definitely see Dick Cheney on the screen, I more so saw Christian Bale, the actor who has played Bruce Wayne and Patrick Bateman. I tend to look at actors by seeing if they look like themselves, in mannerisms and facial expressions, while playing someone else. This is all too noticeable in Bale's portrayal of the VP.
Not just that, but a relatively lackluster script might stifle Bale's chances at winning the Oscar. If you look at films such as "Darkest Hour," (Gary Oldman won the Oscar for his portrayal of Winston Churchill), we learn not just about Winston Churchill the politician, but we gain a deeper sense of what plagued Churchill as a man as well as what his shortcomings were.
It's obvious through this film that Cheney was not without moral shortcomings, but we never gain a deeper sense of who Cheney is. He's quiet, but there's a man deep down inside who everyone really wants to know. Sadly, this is never explored, and it hurts the film in more ways than one.
I must say though, casting Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush was one of my favorite decisions of the year. Not only does Rockwell bare an uncanny resemblance to George W, but he captured the essence of the Texan in his speech, movement, and essence. Rockwell definitely has my stamp of approval, and I seriously hope he takes home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, even though his part is relatively short. This presents another shortcoming in the fact that the best performances in this film aren't given too us enough. This film desperately needed more Rockwell and didn't deliver.
However, the film isn't all bad. "Vice" is by no means boring and kept me hooked throughout the entire 132-minute runtime. Politics has always been a strong interest of mine, and it was quite grasping to witness a dramatization of the events that led to the Iraq War, as well as the incontrovertible corruption that took place inside the White House.
"Vice" is also hilarious, but not in Marvel movie way. I don't want to spoil anything, but there were attempts at humor that I simply hadn't seen before in a film attempting to obtain an Oscar. For that, it deserves credit.
However, it's relatively impossible to give this film a proper score. The problem is that (and the film itself is even aware of it) the facts presented by the narrative are somewhat left up to debate. While we're lead to believe the Dick Cheney was a power hungry politician that exercised every opportunity to gain the upper hand on the American people, it becomes clear that these facts are resonating from a certain point of view. While I happen to side with the film on its views relating to the Iraq War (it being completely needless), I would urge every person who ends up seeing this film to do their own research afterward so they can gain a complete and resolute opinion on the events that take place. This debate of idiosyncratic political beliefs is what sells this film, however, and makes it more enjoyable than not.
With all that beings said, I enjoyed "Vice," but its unwavering problem is that it deprives the viewer from everything that they wanted to see going in. Still, there is plenty to be enjoyed here for the fan of political theater.
Is it worth it?
Even though "Vice" deprives the viewer of what it wants, it's controversy, wacky antics, and above average performances warrant a watch.
