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Bruce McGill, Elizabeth Banks, Ellen Burstyn

Whether you love him or hate him, there is no question that George W. Bush is one of the most controversial public figures in recent memory. In an unprecedented undertaking, acclaimed director Oliver ...( read more  read more... )Stone is bringing the life of our 43rd president to the big screen as only he can. W takes viewers through Bush's eventful life--his struggles and triumphs, how he found both his wife and his faith, and of course the critical days leading up to Bush's decision to invade Iraq.

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43% liked it

14,363 ratings

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60% liked it

200 critics

PG-13, 2 hrs. 9 min.

Directed by: Oliver Stone

Release Date: October 17, 2008

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DVD Release Date: February 10, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (5,105)

  • gor41
    August 19, 2009
    gor41
    Enjoyable, interesting journey through W's life which tries to explain his character (flaws) without overtly demonising him. Brolin inhabits the role, ably supported by a raft of fine performances.
  • JDFortuneFan
    August 16, 2009
    JDFortuneFan
    For starters Oliver Stone jumped the gun on making a film about Bush. This film could have waited ten years for the making. Kudos to Josh Brolin for taking on the role and having the Bush mannerisms down perfectly. The characters of Powell and Rice were poorly written and very...( read more) caricature. On a whole, the cast gave great performances throughout the film. Aside from the film being released while Bush was still a 'sitting President', the film is also a complete mockery (some of which is heresay) of George W. Bush and his cabinet. Stone cannot be criticized for his directing and styling, those really work in the film. Overall, the film just left a bad after taste.
  • katharinec
    July 18, 2009
    katharinec
    Eh.... okay, so it was good for what it was, but what it was was a film that was made before it should have been. Unlike The Deer Hunter (which focused on zeitgeisty themes instead of specific factual events and was thus completely appropriate to make so shortly after Vietnam), t...( read more)his film completely jumped the gun. There is obviously still so much we don't know about the Dubya Whitehouse, about Dubya himself, and a lot of stuff will continue to come out. This film aimed to be a biopic trying to explain the man and a period in our history, but because it was biographical and not zeitgeisty in focus, it was completely presumptuous to make so soon. Stone should have waited to make it later or not made it at all and let someone else do the job right when enough time had passed to make this an endeavor that would actually add insight. It was just hasty.
  • jamilyn0276
    June 28, 2009
    jamilyn0276
    Oliver Stone is a class act and he has brought us some great presidential tales, like Nixon and JFK so why not add one more to the list.
    I liked James Cromwell as George Bush Sr. In this and Josh Brolin was spot on and outstanding as W. I loved that Elizabeth Banks played Laura ...( read more)Bush. I just love her. I just wish there would have been more of her in the film.
    The film focuses more on his tactics in office with the war, with a little history laced in. I do wish they would have focused more on George and Laura and their family, instead of making it so left wing. All in all I have to say it was a good film.
    It's a long film, running 2 hours. I thought they could have taken the time to end it better, I really didn't care for that. But, I do think W. is worth the watch.
  • EarthlyAlien
    June 18, 2009
    EarthlyAlien
    "I believe God wants me to be president!"

    The most shocking thing about Oliver Stone's W. isn't that it portrays George W. Bush as a charismatic simpleton with out-of-control daddy issues, it's that Stone actually seems to like Bush. I'm not saying he thinks he wa...( read more)s a good President or that he agrees with, well, just about anything Bush did during those dark eight years. But it's impossible to watch W. and not come to the conclusion that at the least, this is a man that Stone sympathizes with. Stone's Dubya (as he's frequently called by his friends) is a confused, often well-meaning man in over his head, out of his depth, and completely unaware of his own limitations.

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    Stone's approach to Dubya as a lovable shlub is brilliant, enabling him to dodge many of the pitfalls a project like this is fraught with. Even though the film's marketing materials seem intent on reducing Bush to a crass running gag, the film itself is never mocking or mean-spirited. Bush may be something of an idiot, but he's a lovable idiot, perhaps even a harmless one, or would have been harmless had the American people not been stupid enough to give him the reigns of power. Stone tells his story by mixing fact with wild conjecture. We see re-enacted events which were on the record and thus accurate, as well as a number of things which Stone invents wholesale as a way of getting across his take on the character. Interestingly, it's in those wholly fabricated scenes that Stone shows the most affection for George. His public persona is often his harshest, in the privacy of his own bedroom Bush comes off as a kind and frequently bewildered man.

    Stone's approach to the material is the right one, unfortunately his film is a structural disaster. He knows in general how he wants to portray the president, but beyond that he has no real theme or goal. He leaps through time, telling different parts of Bush's story at different places, with nothing of any substance connecting it all together. Many of the biggest moments in the film serve no purpose, except as a way to let the audience revisit Bush's greatest hits. For instance, early in the film Stone hops through time to show us George's famous pretzel choking incident. We leave an unrelated scene to watch him gag and fall on the floor, and then we're jumping to something else, with no further mention of his near death experience. It's as if Stone was in a rush when he wrote it, as if he had a list of things he wanted to cover but didn't have a clear idea of what he was trying to say with any of them, other than "hey, here's Bush!"

    As a character study though, W. is fascinating. Josh Brolin turns in an incredible performance, his Bush is spot on. What he does is something more than mimicry, you can see it in his eyes, he's there searching for George's soul. He's a dead ringer for the most powerful man in the world, and Brolin is inside his head. The film's other performances come in varying flavours of success. James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn are both stately and understated as Papa and Mama Bush and Thandie Newton slips so fully into the shrill persona of Condoleezza Rice that she's completely unrecognisable as herself. Richard Dreyfuss and Jeffrey Wright also turn in fine work as Dick Cheney and Colin Powell.

    Elizabeth Banks, on the other hand, is left stranded by Laura Bush, who was written into Stanley Weisner's script without a personality. It's a shame, too, since her story is, aside from Dubya's, one of the most baffling. When they meet at a backyard barbecue she's a spunky teacher devoted to reading, education, and voting Democrat. For a moment, Banks shows fire as she flirts with Bush and teases him about his politics. But that's the last glimmer of personality we get from her, and we never truly understand how a woman like that ends up married to a right-wing conservative and borderline illiterate. Apparently Stone's answer is that Laura shuts her mouth and simply does whatever her husband says.

    W. ends long before the modern era, with the Iraq war just starting to go sour in the first half of Bush's second term. An intense desire to please his father coupled with family connections, slick campaign managers, and an innate ability to connect with people on some primal, beer-drinking buddy level have pushed Bushie into a position he has absolutely no desire to be in, and once he's there he convinces himself he's on a mission from God and starts going with his gut. In the process, he's manipulated by those around him. Cheney ambushes him at lunches, pushing his agenda and Bush, who doesn't like reading, goes along with it. While his advisors talk about complicated issues like empire building and oil, he distills everything into pre-school like concepts and regurgitates them back as "hey let's go spread freedom."

    And that's probably Stone's greatest achievement with this film. I honestly don't believe a man that clueless would have the intellect to forge a persona. When Bush says he's doing what he's doing to make the world a better place you actually believe him. It's when you watch the snakes behind his back with their eyes on Iran's oil that you realize he's not the one to blame for what happened between 2001 and 2009, but those who put him in that chair. Stone's W. is not an evil man, merely a foolish and fatally naive one, a man who belongs running a baseball team and not sitting in America's highest office munching on pretzels. Stone's take on Bush's character is ultimately flawed, but fascinating. W. is neither as shocking or vilifying as you may be expecting, but it is entertaining.

    "You fool me once, shame on you. You fool me twice... you ain't gonna fool me again."
  • misslazarou
    November 8, 2009
    misslazarou
    i was surprised by this movie. I love mr stone so i had to give it a go. This is an unique, different view of geo. Josh Brolin captured bush perfectly, he´s absolutely amazing and also richard dreyfuss is brilliant. Its interesting to get to know a side which we dont usually see....( read more) George has a common man, having to struggle because of his "cursed" last name, his issues with his father and his faith. Although i dont agree with his political views, i began to respect and understand him better as a man
  • magnolia12883
    November 3, 2009
    magnolia12883
    Oliver Stone, fresh from taking on another controversial American subject in "World Trade Center" (2006), is one of America's finest filmmakers, and he brings all of his technical brilliance and political insight to bear on this hypnotically absorbing portrait of George W. Bush, ...( read more)the current President of the United States. Stone, who gave us the similarly linearly challenged masterpieces "JFK" (1991) and "Nixon" (1995), this time juxtaposes some time between 9/11 and the beginning of the current Iraq War with chronologically leapfrogging flashbacks (ala' "Lost") to W.'s early days at Yale, the moment he met his wife and First Lady Laura, his various past ventures into the worlds of politics and major league baseball, and the many fights and disagreements he had with his famous father and mother over his lack of direction in life (they apparently approved more of Jeb). Stone and screenwriter Stanley Weister ("Wall Street") give us a thought-provoking, engaging and surprisingly sympathetic look at the early life of maybe the world's most controversial figure, allowing us to get better insight into the man he was and the series of dramatic life-changes which led him to be the man he is today (his reasons for going after Saddam Hussein, for example). Is the film going to be a stunning shock to anyone who pays attention to politics lately and the things that have occurred in this country over Bush's 8 years (two terms) in office? No, probably not. But it does offer entertaining and intriguing notions as to how Bush, and by extension the American people, got to where we are. Josh Brolin is remarkably convincing and magnetic as W., with ample support from an all-star cast - like previous Stone biopics, the spirit is in tact even if the realism is flawed, but Stone fills his film with a gallery of standouts, including: the lovely Elizabeth Banks as Laura, the terrific James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn as George H.W. and Barbara, the mousy and vaguely effeminate Toby Jones as Karl Rove, the Machiavellian Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney, Stacy Keach as Bush's minister, who helped him reach his goal of spiritual renewal and sobriety, and Jeffrey Wright, fed-up beyond measure, as Colin Powell; Scott Glenn and Ioan Gruffudd as Donald Rumsfeld and Tony Blair, respectively, are not given too much to work with. For me, the real standout, however, is Thandie Newton, who is not so much an impersonator as an embodiment of Condoleeza Rice; her mannerisms and vocal qualities are spot-on. Stone's film has been reported as being a satire of the funniest President in history (with the deadliest legacy), but it's really not as comedic as it's touted as being (indeed, one of the two most satirical elements is the soundtrack!). Can Bush be laughed at? Of course (he, afterall, practically satirizes himself), but like Nixon, he embodies the banality of evil. Stone ultimately pities and strives to help us understand, not to judge or theorize, or to simply skewer him on a blade of over-the-top exaggeration. Like "World Trade Center," Stone pretty much lets his characters and history tell the story, leaving his bag of cinematic fireworks at home (a few stylized moments here and there, and Stone's occasional allowance for a hypothetic flight of fancy into W.'s psyche feel right, not superfluous or wrongfooted). Of all the questions asked, the most frequent is: Why does Stone let his film stop after the Iraq War is declared? Perhaps because history is still being made, and since Bush's legacy is still in progress, the film instead, wholly appropriately, ends on a note of unmistakable but apt metaphor, with a sly sideways wink. Indeed, the ending may be the most satirical element in the film.
  • kcddck
    November 1, 2009
    kcddck
    This was a movie that caught me off guard as I thought that this was going to be one of those movies that had a spin to it and it really didn't feel like it. This movie makes W more of a tragic character. Well done job by the cast as not only should Brolin get an Academy Award no...( read more)mination, but also Dreyfuss should as well for his portrayal of Cheney. I really liked how this turned out and not just a skewer piece as this really kept my interest through out most of the movie.
  • xmkatx
    October 31, 2009
    xmkatx
    Josh Brolin was great and the movie didn't seem as bashing as I thought it was going to be.
  • imagination22
    October 30, 2009
    imagination22
    Not my style of movie, but Josh Brolin's performance is phenomenal.

View All W. Reviews

Critic Reviews

November 7, 2008
Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times

Oliver Stone's W - his best film since Nixon and proof that love-hate portraiture inspires him to a higher artistry than liberal polemicising. full review

October 17, 2008
Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com

Funny, compelling, enlightening and more than a little unnerving. Josh Brolin leaps into the Best Actor Oscar race. full review

October 17, 2008
Claudia Puig, USA Today

Although clearly not the definitive biography of Bush, W. is absorbing and amusing to ruminate over. full review

October 17, 2008
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

In the end, W. makes up in immediacy what it lacks in objectivity. full review

October 17, 2008
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Whatever you think of Dubya, he has balls. The movie doesn't. full review

October 17, 2008
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

In the midst of these tumultuous times, in the midst of this tumultuous election, Stone has delivered his most tepid film. full review

October 17, 2008
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Timid, toothless and tepid, this episodic comedy-drama suffers from the one shortcoming I never thought I'd encounter in Stone's work -- failure of nerve. full review

October 16, 2008
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Stone may not lead the charge against George W. Bush as viciously as he might have. But he doesn't misunderestimate him, either. full review

October 16, 2008
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Oliver Stone's W., a biography of President Bush, is fascinating. No other word for it. full review

October 15, 2008
Armond White, The New York Press

By opposing the mob mentality that would hang Bush in effigy, W. imaginatively sympathizes with the most maligned president in modern history. full review

View more W. reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments

  • MorpheusOne
    December 7, 2008
    MorpheusOne
    I was amazed that Flixter didn't have this movie on their website at all. I requested it and they did put it on the site. Although I'm sure that they would have added this movie eventually, they did add it bc of my specific request. I'm still waiting for recognition from them for all of the movies that they have added bc of the requests that I have sent them to add those movies.

    I'm pissy and I hold a grudge, but still I'm proud of myself that they added this movie bc of my request to them to add it!
  • CrazyRoggy
    November 4, 2008
    CrazyRoggy
    WOW!!! holy shit that is the dumbest comment I have ever read!!!! by Kierrok
  • suprabuddha
    October 21, 2008
    suprabuddha
    I really believe that if the American electorate doesn't wake-up and start supporting intelligent responsible leaders soon none of us will be rating any movies. The frightening thing about this cartoonish portrayal of the 43 president is that its' not far from the actual TRUTH!!!! Do you Sarah Palin supporters get it????
  • newpersonainthenight
    October 19, 2008
    newpersonainthenight
    To the person below me, you are a complete idiot.
  • Kierrok
    October 17, 2008
    Kierrok
    This has to be really stupid on so many parts, also it should get a bad rating it's first week because the government would think it to be wrong or however you say it. The government made at first a big deal out of a few war games that came out this yr one of which was Metal Gear Solid 4, because even tho it wasn't MENT to it sounded a hell of alot like the war now in Iraq and such. When you make a movie or game it's more acceptable after either a war that the movie or game is based on has ended or a Bio of a president once that president is out of office yeah I know Bush with soon get out since his 8 yrs are up but still I think this move should get a bad rating it's first week or two... me honestly would give it a 0/5 so I'm not at all interested besides it'll do lies anyways that's all the USA Government does any more is lie through there teath...
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