El vicio del poder

Christian Bale delivers a remarkable performance worthy of the hype and the Oscar (sadly, he did not win). The acting is great across the board. Rockwell might be the second best in film, while Steve Carell and Amy Adams were similarly excellent.

Director Adam McKay holds this movie back from being great. He lays on the metaphors with the thickness of grandma's lasagna. And much like when eating the lasagna, a little goes a long way. Unfortunately, McKay feeds us an unneeded second helping. And a third.

That's not to say Mckay did a terrible job directing this movie. He didn't. Most of the film has a strong, resonant message wrapped in an entertaining and hilarious packaging. Much like in "The Big Short," McKay cleverly communicates complicated material in a way that's easy for any viewer to understand. And this is all accomplished without being condescending, except for when it is.

McKay doesn't put enough trust in viewers to comprehend what he's saying. The cutaways to literal representations of hunting and fishing feel a bit insulting and clunky. They're unnecessary. Christian Bale is masterful chef. Just keep the camera on him and let him cook.

For the most part, the movie is thoroughly enjoyable, largely because of the way it sheds light on the ridiculousness of the events unfolding. It's a funny movie at times because it's so appalling. Other times it's too appalling to be funny.

Critics may point out that the story is not a bi-partisan take. To be clear: it's not and it's not trying to be. McKay is disgusted by what Dick Cheney and other political figures did, and he makes his feelings painfully clear. This approach leads to some of the movie's most fascinating moments but also led to its partial undoing. If McKay had just been willing to trust that moviegoers would understand his message if presented it with a touch more subtlety (they would have) this would be a smarter and more ultimately more widely praised film.

This is one of the best films I've seen this year & left the theatre with the same feelings toward the political system as I did after BlacKkKlansmen (2018) & Sorry To Bother You (2018). A pseudo-documentary/dramedy biopic that tells the story of Cheney's political career while skewering the Republican Party & Washington DC politics in general, from the Nixon administration to today. It brings to light how politicians will sell-out everything in the pursuit for power, just how much sway one person can hold in politics, how media was forever changed under the Bush administration, & how all of this is still effecting us today. It's a film that has as many laughs as it does moments of bitter truth, many of them bleeding into each other. Again putting his body through a drastic change for a role, Christian Bale is absolutely incredible as Dick Cheney with his mannerism & glare down perfectly. I'm just as impressed with Amy Adams, Steve Carell, & Sam Rockwell. The editing is fantastic & the narrator was an interesting touch, especially once it's revealed who he is in relation to Cheney. And the mid-credits scene perfectly expresses what the reactions to this film will be.

Whether it's entirely fact-based or not, I can't deny how engrossed I was by its unique and interesting style. The film starts out very strong and compelling, but the screenplay is bit choppy and doesn't stick the landing. While some events are brushed over, others are brilliant and enjoyable enough to make the film an overall worthwhile experience. The performances are truly great and Christian Bale is an absolute powerhouse with such a commanding presence. This is a film with purpose, no matter how unsubtle of a gut-punch it may intend to deliver.

It puts "Hereditary" to shame. However, I disagree with critics' assertions that director McKay set out to make Cheney seem like a complete monster. He often humanized him, and there were a couple of moments when a few of the members of my audience got somewhat emotional. If you had asked them before the movie if they were going to shed a tear while they watched it, they probably would have replied, "HELL NO." Also, whereas I would state firmly that there was ZERO link to anything that involved 9/11 and Iraq, McKay provides a very tenuous, dubious possible link to him-- which later completely boomerangs into Cheney's face.

To put it bluntly, it was the worst administration of all time, and as the film states early, I think that many Americans have either forgotten it or never really paid attention to it completely. When Democrats describe their worst fears of possible Trump disasters, I don't think that they know that they are describing things that *actually occurred* during the first decade of this century. When Bale as Cheney looks directly into the camera and delivers a monologue-- or postmortem-- about his tenure as vice president, it might remind you of Emperor Palpatine's rationalizations in the Star Wars prequels. As the film shows, at the time there were justifications for unitary executive privilege that were written by a single moron and apparently regarded as gospel-- and can be used as precedent by future presidents. And I probably don't need to remind you about the most unjustified, wasteful, moronic and disastrous war in American history, which he strongly advocated and for which the entire world is continuing to pay a heavy toll. This film is actually important.

Finally, Bale is my choice for best lead actor of 2018. It was a tour de force performance.

If this film has any slight problems for me, I didn't like some of its artistic license. Sometimes I wanted it to be more straightforward. But it's a must watch.

In 2008, Italian director Paolo Sorrentino made a film about a, then, still living sinister political figure Giuliano Andreotti. The ferociousness of the portrait was acceptable to the public at large because it was presented as a stylish, slightly surreal comedy. Adam McKay sets VICE in a more realistic universe but the results are just as pungent, disturbing and funny. Christian Bale is spookily perfect. And Amy Adams is a modern day Lady Macbeth of major proportions. The most unsettling part of the whole experience, because Vice is an experience, is the knowledge that this are the people chosen by the people. The fact that countries have the governments they deserve gives me a chill in 2018. A remarkable film with remarkable performances. Bravo.