Wayne A’s review published on Letterboxd:
Extremely interesting (and somewhat mocking) biopic of Dick Cheney and his rise to power. Gives you good, surprising information about the man, in McKay's trademark cheeky style.
While I learned a lot of things watching this film, and marvelled at Christian Bale's uncanny performance (even though Cheney talked a bit like batman sometimes), I gotta say, it definitely outstayed its welcome. Shave 20 or so minutes off the end of this film and you've got an academy award in the bag.
What I learned:
* Cheney started out as a total loser, was not born into power at all
* His wife was probably smarter than him
* George W Bush is a complete idiot that's everyone took advantage of (it's amazing he ever got to power, unless you consider what's happening now in the white house)
* Cheney had to learn to be an powerbroking asshole
* Rummy wasn't the bad-ass I thought he might have been
This movie gets an extra star for Bale's performance, and Sam Rockwell is always just awesome. Carrel is good too.