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Regardless of what you think of our current president, regardless of what you think of director Oliver Stone, and even regardless of what any other critics may write about W., the film is worth seeing for at least one reason; the amazing performance by Josh Brolin. His characterization is so spot on, so seamless and natural that he may even out-Bush the man himself. W. attempts to inject realism by occasionally digitally inserting its faux versions of real life figures into footage of actual newscasts - which, like much of the film, works to varying degrees of success - but in Brolin’s case it needn’t have bothered; it only took a few scenes for me to suspend disbelief and fall into the notion that I was watching the genuine article onscreen.

The other actors run the gamut from subtle reinterpretation to broad caricature, with Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney and James Cromwell as Bush Sr. successfully landing in the former category and Thandie Newton’s truly awful and downright bizarre impression of Condoleeza Rice adding little but a jarring distraction. British actor Toby Jones as puppet master Karl Rove turns in a solid performance in some ways, but his mannerisms and general appearance are a bit too troll-ish not to also sidetrack the film to a certain degree. Elizabeth Banks is pleasantly understated as Laura Bush, but that’s probably just because we don’t know all that much about the first lady and what to think of her.

Structurally, the film adheres to a typical biopic formula – to a point. The first two acts of the film employ a standard time jumping structure that juxtaposes the (relative) present Bush of 2002 as he ramps up to invade Iraq with scenes that take on his formative years and gradual rise to prominence throughout the 80s and 90s. But for the third act, Stone and screenwriter Stanley Weiser plant their feet firmly in the new millennium as the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath are given the film’s full attention. Stone probably had a grander theme in mind with this organization of information, as the lighthearted humor found in the dreamlike flashbacks gives way to a far more somber and realistic tone when Iraq becomes the focus, but unfortunately this shift accomplishes little except to deflate the momentum the storyline had meticulously built up to that point.

A movie’s primary motive should be to entertain and/or engage its audience, particularly when it’s being released on several thousand movie screens all across the country. But frankly, while the first two acts of W. fit into that category just fine, the third just doesn’t measure up. This part of the storyline feels inert and monotonous, possibly because the events being covered are so fresh in our minds that we know just how it’s going to end up, thus robbing the finale of dramatic power. But the transition to a more serious feel just isn’t smooth enough either, instead coming off as forced and jarring; I found myself yearning for more wacky drunken Bush antics as the last 30 or so minutes of the film lumbered on its inevitable death march towards failure.

As a result of the decision to devote so much time to Bush as president, some elements of his earlier years feel more than a little skimmed over. There’s a lot of good stuff dealing with his conflicts with his father, for example, but his conversion to religion is handled in a matter of minutes. The film left me wanting more of certain parts and less of others, a sure sign that it wasn’t a slam dunk overall. But on the other hand, there is much for everyone involved to be proud of, not the least of which is the fact that the film was shot just this past summer but still completed in time for its timely release this weekend. Stone, Weiser and Brolin all seem to be going to great lengths to humanize Bush rather than demonize him, forgoing the “easy” route and leaving their film without anyone in the role of a clear villain - no small feat to overcome in terms of storytelling. It helps that Bush is such a fascinating individual, in ways both good and bad, and W. also effectively fits in plenty of psycho analyzing that helps make our current president all the more interesting – but it can be difficult to remember the many solid and entertaining elements of the film when faced with such a dreary and tedious conclusion.

Grade: B

- Jeff Latta