Big Picture Big Sound

The Film

No matter where you sit on the political fence, there's no denying that the idea of director Oliver Stone bringing the story of the 43rd president to the big screen is an intriguing one. However, if you are going into W. expecting to see the cinematic equivalent of the former Chief's head being marched around on sticks, a la Natural Born Killers, well... the film will be as disappointing as 2000's election results.

Instead, Stone goes the sympathetic route, while still making the man look like a bit of a simpleton. While that may have been a popular opinion amongst many Americans over the past few months, it couldn't have been the most important pieces of our political puzzle for the past eight years.

Speaking of which, expect a lot of those pieces to be missing here. Instead, the movie plays more like an incomplete highlights reel. There's no peeks at either election, no capture of Saddam Hussein, no Hurricane Katrina -- not even 9/11. Most of the movie flips between Bush's privileged, drunken upbringing, flashes of his various careers, and the post-9/11 presidential years. It's not that we should expect every minute of the man's life, but Stone certainly cleared the shooting schedule to make sure the pretzel-choking incident got enough screentime.

While it seems that a lot of the events portrayed were taken from someone's record books, Stone does his usual job of taking liberties. Unfortunately, he never really takes a stand and the film comes off like more of a mish-mash. It's a shame, too, because aside from the interesting subject matter, the cast is top notch. Josh Brolin is the entire movie, nailing the title role to a tee; too bad he doesn't have better material to work with. James Cromwell and Richard Dreyfuss also turn in a pair of noteworthy performances. Elizabeth Banks does a good job as Laura, but the second half of the movie reduces her to a smiling, fairly silent sidekick. There are plenty of other familiar faces in this large crowd. The one other standout is Thandie Newton's Condoleeza Rice -- but not in a good way.

Check out Karen Dahlstrom's review of the theatrical release of W.

The Picture

Despite the lack of details both in the story and on the screen, the film's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio delivers some nice color work. The darkness inside Bush's war room definitely set an appropriate tone, with other colors popping in his peppier, early days, especially during his reign with the Texas Rangers.

The Sound

Despite Lionsgate giving W. the presidential treatment on the audio side, there's not too much use for 7.1 sound here. The film is all about the dialogue, which is presented in a clear, crisp, and sometimes chilling, manner.

The Extras

Don't expect to find too many extras on this release. A few deleted scenes deliver a pair of Stone's fantasy features, and "No Stranger to Controversy: Oliver Stone's George W. Bush" isn't controversial at all -- it's a 16-minute featurette on the making of the movie. Still, history buffs will want to check out the chatter of political experts and other talking heads in "Dangerous Dynasty: The Bush Presidency." Also, naysayers can compare the movie against the 88-page peek at "W. Filmmakers' Research and Annotations Guide."

Final Thoughts

Whether or not you like the man is one thing. However, it's hard to like the movie. W. was rushed to hit theaters before this year's election, and it sort of shows. Despite an all-star cast with a few stellar performances, it just feels like an opportunity was wasted.

Product Details

• Actors: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Ellen Burstyn, James Cromwell, Richard Dreyfuss, Scott Glenn, Toby Jones, Stacy Keach, Bruce McGill, Thandie Newton
• Director: Oliver Stone
• Audio/Languages: 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio (English), Dolby 5.1 (French)
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Region: A
• Number of Discs: 1
• Rating: PG-13
• Studio: Lionsgate
• Blu-ray Disc Release Date: February 10, 2009
• Run Time: 129 minutes
• List Price: $39.99
• Extras:
  • Audio Commentary with Director Oliver Stone
  • Dangerous Dynasty: The Bush Legacy
  • No Stranger to Controversy: Oliver Stone's George W. Bush
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • W. Filmmakers' Research and Annotations Guide