W.
Metascore
56 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 36 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 36
  3. Negative: 1 out of 36
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    W., a biography of President Bush, is fascinating. No other word for it.
  2. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    88
    You'll be disappointed if you expect famed leftist Oliver Stone to apply a coup de grace to this man.
  3. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    83
    Seems a much more even-handed and thoughtful take on the man than anyone might have expected.

User Reviews

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User Score
4.9 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 85 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 37
  3. Negative: 17 out of 37
  1. StevenF
    7
    Kudos to Oliver Stone for taking on a man who was still President of the United States at the time of shooting this film, but even that aside, this is a truly compelling and often humorous telling of the pivotal moments in the life of George Dub-ya.
    W. chronicles the life of the controversial 43rd President up to the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq, we see the lead up to the decision while also jumping back to his early fraternity days while he he attended Yale, his alcohol abuse and is often strained relationship with his father, former President George H.W Bush, a man who the film portrays as being very tolerant towards his son and his lifestyle choices, but isn't particularly favourable towards him running for Governor of Texas, instead trying to focus on his other son, Jeb's campaign.
    It often plays loosely with political satire and at times addresses itself in a far more serious and dramatic tone, and Josh Brolin delivers a fantastic and real portrayal of the President in question, his mannerisms, speech, body movement and even appearance are spot on.
    The film hits its stride in the private meetings between Bush and his Cabinet, where the heated discussions about the eventual invasion of Iraq between VP Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss) and Secretary of State Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright) being some the better and more intriguing scenes of the film.
    Whether the film holds true or not, it was interesting to see these thrilling encounters, encounters that Bush himself seemed to sit very much on the sidelines.
    The film does, however fast forward a bit too much throughout earlier days of his life, and perhaps not enough attention put on the political aspect of his career, it was a thoughtful and almost no-brainer to pick the pre-Iraq invasion as the setting of the film, but more could have been done to see the man inside the Oval office, with his stuttering, his mis-speaking and his infamous mannerisms given more time to breathe.
    Certainly not one of the best biopics to date, but Stone along with the charismatic and detailed capability of Josh Brolin's acting, has given the film much to talk about when the credits roll, it tries not to take sides, instead delivering and enjoyable and often informative look at the Texan who took the White House in all sorts of directions.    … Full Review »
  2. TopiasI
    1
    Horrible. at least when ur not from USA. cant say good things about this movie.
  3. BenN.
    7
    I went into this movie expecting to see a leftist bashing of Bush but that's just not what happened, it was a surprisingly fair film from Oliver Stone. It wasn't fair and balanced by any means but it was center-left perspective instead of the expected far-left perspective. Oliver Stone Portrays The President as an average Joe of average intellegence who constantly tried, and failed in his W's mind, to live up to his father's expectations. The most surprising thing was Stone's protrayal of Bush's decisions on Iraq, in that it was the intellegence system betraying Bush instead of Bush just trying to one up his dad as most leftists believe. Though the film doesn't protray any of Bushes successes in offic, it critiques his mistakes in a way that is fair to the man who wasn't a bad president in general, just not one of our best. A a centrist myself I see this film as a fair representation of the man an encourage everyone who believes Bush is Evil to see it to get a lesson on the truth: that he was just an under-qualified man doing the best he could. In fact the one man Stone actually portrays as evil in the film is Dick Cheney, answering Powells questions on Iraq by saying, "There is no Exit Stragety, We Stay" The Clif-Hanger style endind will ruin the movie for you but you will still enjoy it for the most part, if you keep an open mind on Bush.… Full Review »
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