Governor George W Bush of Texas picks Dick Cheney, the CEO of Halliburton Co, to be his Republican running mate in the 2000 presidential election.

No stranger to politics, Cheney’s impressive résumé includes stints as White House chief of staff, House Minority Whip and defence secretary. When Bush wins by a narrow margin, Cheney begins to use his newfound power to help reshape the country and the world.

Review

“The Chairman”

When walking into the screening for “Vice” I was a little concerned with the buzz that the movie was getting and asking myself: “Would it live up to the hype?”. And let me tell you that this is the first time in a long time that I have been this conflicted about a movie, the movie was simultaneously GREAT & TERRIBLE. I will attempt to explain myself.

THE GREAT

Christian Bale – Prosthetics and make-up aside the mannerisms and cadence that he wholly commits to is something to marvel at and he is deserving of all the plaudits and is probably the front runner for Best Actor statue at the Oscars. He embodies a man who transforms from a lazy rebel to a motivated devil.

Amy Adams – Her portrayal of Lynn Cheney, a woman who has seemingly no moral compass and does the job of humanizing Dick to a point where he doesn’t even have to appear at election events to win. The ability to make yourself likable and detestable is something to admire in any actor, a skill few actors can even dream to achieve and Adams does this with ease.

Steve Carrell – This really took me off guard, I didn’t expect to be so impressed with his take of Donald Rumsfeld. But in portraying someone so evil he actually does the job of softening Dick Cheney to audience. When we meet him he is already a ruthless political operative.

THE TERRIBLE

Adam Mckay – The direction and narrative tools utilised here were at times seriously misguided or just plain sloppy. If the Big Short is an example him at the peak of his powers, Vice is an example of the low point. The film is getting the hype and attention it is in spite of his involvement.

My biggest concern going in was thinking that Dick Cheney would be made to seems relatable and human, thank goodness this didn’t happen but what I wasn’t expecting was a muddled story with few highs and far too many lows. Only go see this to witness three amazing performances, but brace yourself for a mild feeling of disappointment. 6.5/10

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