Vice - 4/5

When the trailer for this film came out, my first reaction was 'meh!.' Tainted by Oliver Stone's 'W' (the only film I have ever walked out of a cinema), I was not interested to hear another story featuring George W. Bush or see amazing talent wasted on a boring US political story. However, I was completely wrong. This movie surprised me and it is good. Starting off with a messy Cheney in the 60's, Christian Bale plays this character to perfection across 4 decades. If there is one actor that could it, it is probably Bale. He encapsulates Cheney amazingly well and thanks to Adam McKay, all actors in this film bring their A-Game. The next is the incredible Amy Adams. While I believe this role should have gone to Reese Witherspoon, Amy Adams does do it some serious justice. Her performance as Lynne Cheney is fierce and to see Adams and Bale on screen is exceptional. We then have Steve Carell, who once again dabbles into his dramatic chops to give us Donald Rumsfeld. Carell's impersonation and look is remarkable, we forget it is Carell behind those glasses. And just like his previous dramatic turns in Dan in Real Life and Foxcatcher, Carell nails a dramatic role once again. Next is the Sam Rockwell as W. With a character so recent, it is a hard task to play this role. Everyone remembers who he is, what he sounded like and what his mannerisms were. Rockwell does an amazing job and giving us his version of Bush. His performance is completely worthy of an Oscar nomination. Finally - Tyler Perry as Colin Powell. Though brief, was still memorable. Poltics nerds may love this film or may debate on the accuracies behind it. As a standalone film, this was brilliant. It will make you angry and sad at the same time. Never have I wanted the main character in a film to just die. Regardless of the cinema or at home - give this film a go.