Grade: B
The opening captions of Vice had me thinking “ooohh boy, this is gonna piss some people off.” And we’re talking just a few seconds into the movie. Christian Bale stars as the title character, former VP Dick Cheney. Oliver Stone’s W had what I thought was the most perfect casting for Dick Cheney, and I wondered how anybody else could surpass Richard Dreyfuss in that role. I don’t know about surpassing, but Bale’s presence here is captivating and shimmering. He is up to the task of carrying the movie. Sometimes he sounds like Batman for some reason. As well as the current one, he also plays younger versions of Cheney – something Dreyfuss couldn’t have done. Director Adam McKay seems to get great work from Bale. McKay directed The Big Short, in which I found Bale’s performance to be the most worthwhile thing about that film. I hope they continue to collaborate.
Another cast carryover from The Big Short is Steve Carell. His nasal, cackling, weaselly, villainous take on Donald Rumsfeld is ever so delightful to watch. Amy Adams, unrecognizable here, does her usual strong work as Lynne Cheney, and this is her 6th Oscar nomination in 13 years. I imagine George W. Bush would be a difficult part to play without coming off as an over the top hokey caricature. Sam Rockwell doesn’t completely succeed, but comes the closest of any actor I’ve seen take on GWB. On the other hand, Tyler Perry as Colin Powell and LisaGay Hamilton as Condoleezza Rice are so thoroughly authentic that I wondered whether those were actors playing the characters.
McKay adopts the same style he utilized in The Big Short. It works better here than it did there. In the midst of the frenetic ADD tangents and quick cuts, it comes up for air once in a while to have heart, substance, and harrowing emotionally charged scenes. It isn’t afraid to get angry, and I loved its biting sarcasm. That scene with the maitre D’ is a case in point. A narrator, whose identity is unknown for a while, guides us through the movie. The moment when we do find out how he fits into the story is a funny, shocking, and macabre twist of the knife. Two men traveling in a tank in Afghanistan are discussing whether cows or dogs are better animals, much like Jules and Vincent in Pulp Fiction talking about the quarter pounder with cheese while on their way to kill someone. In a clever take on a tired biopic convention, the movie has epilogue captions followed by credits rolling before the halfway point. I will cut myself off from listing examples of how smart and entertaining Vice is.
People may dismiss it as another liberal Hollywood hack job, and I wouldn’t blame them. I’m pretty close to the center, politically, but I do consider myself a leftie. Honestly, I don’t know enough about politics to talk politics, and don’t feel too passionately about anything. All I can say is this snowflake thought Vice was darn cool.
Grade: B
Film Reviews by Mark 
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