Playboys of the western world ... Tom Hanks and Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson's War.
Charlie Wilson's War sounds like a recipe for disaster. A host of Hollywood A-listers taking on a comedy about Afghanistan? This is going to be about as well-thought-out as the War on Terror, right?
Not according to the critics, who offer almost universal praise for Mike Nichols' true-life tale of the Texas playboy senator who helped the mujahideen topple the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. They love Tom Hanks in the role of Wilson, they like Julia Roberts as the rightwing southern socialite who helped him in his efforts, and they absolutely adore Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the surly CIA operative with a world-shaking contacts list.
"You might think Tom Hanks is miscast as the lovable sinner. Dennis Quaid, maybe, or Woody Harrelson. But Hanks brings something unique to the role," writes Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times. "He plays a man spinning his wheels, bored with the girls and parties, looking for something to bring meaning to his slog through the federal bureaucracy."
"Hanks infuses Wilson with a bounce and charm we haven't seen from him in years, while Roberts brings a regal air to the underwritten Herring," reckons Empire's Chris Hewitt, adding: "If Hoffman doesn't get Oscar-nominated for his turn as the tactless but tuned-in yin to Wilson's yang, then someone should start a sub-committee to investigate."
The BBC's Stella Papamichael is also pleased to point out that the film doesn't ignore the fallout from Wilson's actions - the mujahideen eventually morphed into the Taliban and turned the weapons he helped fund on American soldiers. "War has rarely been this much fun, but director Mike Nichols is careful to offset the mischief with a poignant reminder of the days that lay ahead," she writes.
But there is a dissenting voice, and it belongs to our own Peter Bradshaw, who pretty much disagrees with everything you have just read.
"[This is] another deeply muddled, fence-sitting, obtuse Hollywood picture about American politics, excruciatingly unsure whether to crack wise satirically, or go into a glassy-eyed patriotic celebration," he says. "It's a comedy, but with a persistent ring of phoniness and unfunniness. And Julia Roberts gives the worst performance of her career."
So who's got it right? If you caught Charlie Wilson's War at the weekend, please let us know what you thought. There's talk of Oscar nods for Hanks, Hoffman and Roberts. What do you think?
