grantss Early 1980s. Charlie Wilson is a relatively unimportant and unproductive Texas congressman. He does have one advantage - he is on two important committees, covering foreign and military policy. He learns of the situation in Afghanistan and how the Russians are treating the Afghanis and is determined to help, through providing the Mujahideen with weapons. This sets in motion an unlikely sequence of deals and alliances. Excellent movie. Covers an important series of events in world history, the short-term consequences of which were positive, the long term less so. Does so in very light, funny fashion. This highlights the farcicalness of some of the events, and helps the story move along. It would have been a very dry movie if it was entirely serious.Despite the non-seriousness of much of the movie, has a very powerful and profound final message.Great acting by Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and, especially, Philip Seymour Hoffman.

alek-sakharov That's how can one "create" history... It's a pity how can one of my favorite actors became a liar. I live in Russia, not in the US. I don't know how US politics act, how they speak, what they like & where they sleep. I can't say that such a man as Charly Wilson can't be shown as in this movie. But I know much more about War in Afganistan & about Soviets. And I know, WHAT was raised by such men as Charlie Wilson. So when Tom Hanks show us some poor little Afgan rebels & cruel ugly soviet soldiers I want to ask Tom: Are You Crasy? Yes, you may be proud, that The Soviet Union lost that war due to US influence, than you may be proud, that The Soviet Union crashed due to this lost, e.t.c. BUT! You may not show that "Black" is "White". You should show that terrorism in this region is raised on US money & until now no one can stop it. And that's the truth about this war - the CHAOS in the Middle East was created by such men as Charlie Wilson. These men are Criminals and should be judged, because too many people were killed, too many cities were destroyed... In 1988 I saw veterans of this war without legs & arms - they picked up from the ground toys, that where filled with explosives by Charly Wilson's "rebels", they were trying to help people & got fire in there backs, because Charly Wilson gave money to support bandits... And what we see in this film? Soviet soldiers, as terrorists, put explosives into toys and laugh...& throw this toys to Afgan Children... And then, WOW! Good rebels kill bad Russian soldiers!!! And people all around the world should think that it's true... And nothing about cutting off heads, teaching children to kill, making drugs, violence against women - ALL THE THINGS the Soviets tried to protect people from. Maybe You don't know, but for Russian soldiers it was an international duty - to protect people in friendly country. And they really tried to do it. Well, You may think that Russians drink vodka all day long, dance with bears & eat ice on breakfast, then this film is for You. So, on my opinion, this film is only propaganda. God, save the USA!

studioAT Aaron Sorkin has had back to back big screen hits with 'The Social Network', 'Moneyball' and 'Steve Jobs' but here is his earlier effort.It boasts a big name cast (including the much missed Philip Seymour Hoffman) and with Sorkin penning the script it should be a good film, right? Wrong! This film is Sorkin very much in his comfort zone. The world of politics. Lots of people walking around, being important, spouting write-me-down one liners.But all this hides the fact that the characters aren't that likable, the story isn't the great and lacks all of the fizz and sparkle that makes Sorkin's other (more successful work!) like 'The West Wing' accessible for people who don't care about politics.I find Sorkin to be hit and miss. Guess which column this gets filed in?

g-bodyl Charlie Wilson's War is based off true events which led to the downfall of the Soviet Union and perhaps the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. But instead of making the film a complete political drama, I liked the boldness of the filmmakers by changing the film to more of a political satire. The movie was often funny and it consists of witty, explosive dialogue tanks to the genius writing of Aaron Sorkin. However, I feel that the movie is just way too talkative and the narrative tends to drag on at points.Mike Nichol's film is about a U.S Representative named Charlie Wilson who has been investigated for his party habits. But he pulls his act together by befriending a CIA man in charge of the happenings between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan named Gus. Together along with the help of a rich romantic interest of Charlie, Joanne Herring, they work together to participate in the downfall of the Soviet Union.The acting is really good, as one could expect with this sort of cast. It's weird to see Tom Hanks play a party person, but he pulls it off very well. Julia Roberts is excellent as his cold, rich love interest. Philip Seymour Hoffman, as always, is a great pleasure to watch. Finally, Amy Adams is magnificent as Charlie's assistant, always eager to live up to Charlie.Overall, Charlie Wilson's War is an engaging political satire about the events surrounding the Soviet Union's defeat and it shows how this was truly the beginning of the long drawn-out affair between the Taliban and the United States which would culminate during the 9/11 attacks. But it was funny and the jokes are spot on. The script is unusually clever and it was well-directed by a very well-respected director. Other than some blandness at times, this was a good film. I rate this film 8/10.