What Stone and his screenwriter have made is hardly a pro-Bush movie, though they have made one that is -- if not sympathetic -- at least not unsympathetic.
Comment
10/22/08
W. (2008)
60
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:201
Fresh:120
Rotten:81
Average Rating:6/10
Consensus: A surprisingly sympathetic portrayal of the 43rd American president, W. is fascinating in spots, but merely rudimentary as a whole.
Australian Theatrical Release:
Feb 26, 2009 Wide
US Box Office: $25,517,500
Synopsis: 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... [More]
Starring: Josh Brolin, James Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Elizabeth Banks
Director: Oliver Stone
Reviews for W.
61 - 80 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Bush haters will love it; Bush lovers will hate it; and those in between will be bored to death
10/21/08
More incendiary than people give it credit for...The fact that people see this as sympathetic is terrible, because [this] is not [all] it takes to run the free world.
10/21/08
It's always good, never great. Then we're suddenly forced to remember this is all (potentially) real and not just a Shakespearean play about a kid with a daddy complex.
10/21/08
Not enough time has expired for any of "W." to be suspenseful or educational. And a self-neutered Oliver Stone keeps it from finding any lift in controversy.
10/21/08
Click to read the article
10/21/08
Top CriticA movie which is a wacky, wild and weird look at how the past 8 or so years of American politics and policy came to be.
10/21/08
a muddy film that's enjoyable to watch, but really doesn't have much to say.
10/20/08
"W." begs for a "W.-2, the sequel" at a later time when the treatment can be far bolder in revealing the psychology, the history and the man's effect on our country.
10/20/08
This Stone-d Bush is a pampered village idiot prop, a Sarah Palin buffoon with whiskers. And while W doesn't seem to know how to use a condom right, he's more certain about winning wars if you 'just make sure you hit no camels on the ass.'
10/20/08
W. feels poorly timed: too late to have any effect on the public, most of whom long ago checked out on the President, and too early to provide more than a schematic interpretation of who he is.
10/20/08
Top CriticTalk about beating a man when he's down in the opinion polls!
10/20/08
Perhaps Stone believed that the only way you can make sense of the George W. Bush debacle is by presenting it as a goof -- a Freudian cartoon. But if that's the case, he erred on the side of caution.
10/20/08
Oliver, um, this is way too domestic, PBS has more chutzpah! It's not a good feeling to hate a "special" child. You gave Bush - God forgive me - likeabilty. Read on ->
10/20/08
Surely this is the greatest satire of the American presidency ever made for film.... Surely this would be a horror story if it were true...
10/20/08
Conjecture, rumor, theory...that is no surprise. What will have your jaw dropping is [Oliver]Stone's even-handed, straight-ahead, almost nice treatment of [George W.]Bush.
10/19/08
W. resembles a postmortem rather than an accusation: not an attempt to deride Bush's failures, but instead an examination of what drives his decision-making process.
10/19/08
There's no way to sugarcoat this: Oliver Stone's pre-Election Day biopic of current White House resident George W. Bush is a mess. But here's the good news--W. is actually a fascinating mess.
10/18/08
The film lets us know the American people made a huge mistake in electing W. as the 43rd president.
10/18/08
Hee-Haw meets Dr. Strangelove.
10/18/08
Latest News for W.
February 09, 2009:
RT on DVD: Oliver's W, Spike's St. Anna, and My Name is Bruce!
What better way to celebrate the inauguration of President Barack Obama by watching Oliver Stone's W. this week on DVD? While a handful of middling studio releases hit home... More...
February 08, 2009:
This Stone-d Bush is a pampered village idiot prop, with Thandie's bubbleheaded Condi stealing the show. And while W's 'just make sure you hit no camels on the ass,' is wild, the movie begs the question, who is responsible? W: The Audacity Of Honing Up. 
More...
February 01, 2009:
This Stone-d Bush is a pampered village idiot prop, with Thandie's bubbleheaded Condi stealing the show. And while W's 'just make sure you hit no camels on the ass,' is wild, the movie begs the question, who is responsible? W: The Audacity Of Honing Up.
More...
November 14, 2008:
UK Critics Consensus: Is Zack And Miri Make A Porno On The Money (Shot)? Is Max Payne Maxing Or Taxing?
This week in the UK cinema screens we have Kevin Smith's latest, the intuitively titled Zack And Miri Make A Porno. Marky Mark Wahlberg stars in the video game adaptation Max... More...
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