Reviews for Adam McKay's "Vice" have arrived

RastaMentality · Dec 17, 2018

Currently 65% on RT and changing.

Critic Consensus: Vice takes scattershot aim at its targets, but writer-director Adam McKay hits some satisfying bullseyes -- and Christian Bale's transformation is a sight to behold.

Acknowledging the intense secrecy that continues to surround Cheney, those titles close with the assurance that the filmmakers have "done their f***ing best." Their fucking best turns out to be pretty good, and in the case of Bale, pretty f***ing great.

https://www.vulture.com/2018/12/vice-is-gimmicky-but-christian-bales-cheney-is-spot-on.html

Variety

"Vice..." though it pretends to reveal how power works, is ultimately content to remain on the outside, sticking its finger in the eye of power.

https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/vice-review-christian-bale-amy-adams-dick-cheney-1203085211/

Hollywood Reporter

Through wit, surprise and an irrepressible ballsiness comes a scorching humor that neither curdles nor becomes exhausted.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/vice-review-1166477?utm_source=twitter

TheWrap

In an era in which the general public is organizing to confront the White House on multiple issues, this isn't the film we need right now.

https://www.thewrap.com/vice-film-review-dick-cheney-christian-bale-amy-adams/

Adam McKay's film shoves information down our throats like a Wikipedia breathing tube.

https://812filmreviews.com/2018/12/17/vice-is-as-aimless-as-america-during-the-bush-years/

Forbes

One of the worst movies of the year, one that so plays up the idea of Cheney as a chess master that it lets an entire nation off the moral hook.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottm...-adams-adam-mckay-george-w-bush/#2e415a153895

DMczaf · Dec 17, 2018

I'm only here for Bale.

Guzim

Deleted member 17627 · Dec 17, 2018

From the trailers it seemed like the people behind the film didn't know what direction they wanted to take it in, and the Forbes review in particular also makes me upset in the film's portrayals.

Kind of wish McKay would go back to making comedies rather than these comedy-dramas that feel awkward and barely have any comedic content in them.

Blader · Dec 17, 2018

Huh, reviews are way worse than I was expecting. I loved The Big Short and was really looking forward to this. Could've sworn some of the earliest impressions were really positive too, though I have seen some more harsher buzz on twitter lately.

UnpopularBlargh · Dec 17, 2018

That Mendelson review is seething.

PhilosopherDirtBike · Dec 17, 2018

Sounds like a great Bale performance trapped in a movie that doesn't know what it wants to be

BWoog · Dec 17, 2018

Why on earth would they release this on Christmas?

Metallix87 · Dec 17, 2018

I'm still pumped about this film. Can't wait to see it.

Chris McQueen · Dec 17, 2018

Yikes.

Sweeney Swift · Dec 17, 2018

Skipping this one

RastaMentality · Dec 17, 2018

congrats to Regina King on her oscar.

Not sure if this movie is all in making Cheney a demon or if it lets the white house off the hook, but it sounds like a mess regardless.

Keywork · Dec 17, 2018

I had a feeling this wasn't going to be as good as "The Big Short", but the performances seem to be what saves it.

Daily Beast tears it apart and calls it "The Worst Movie of the Year"

latex · Dec 17, 2018

Ugh, I can't believe this is the film Amy Adams finally wins her Oscar for.

Deleted member 5853 · Dec 17, 2018

Now it makes sense why this film didn't debut at fests.

Shame, but I am still very excited to see it. I hope this is a case of where my opinion and the critics' differ.

Ridley327 · Dec 17, 2018

BWoog said:
Why on earth would they release this on Christmas?

Worked for The Big Short! A lot of adult dramas tend to open on Xmas regardless, to have programming available as that day is one of the busiest of the entire year for theaters. What is weird is that Annapurna is putting If Beale Street Could Talk into wide release the same day, but things haven't been looking good for them for a while.

Man, this is not looking good. It seems like McKay was way out of his depth as a filmmaker regarding this subject.

ryseing · Dec 17, 2018

BWoog said:
Why on earth would they release this on Christmas?

I think the Christmas release is limited?

wenis · Dec 17, 2018

Keywork said:
I had a feeling this wasn't going to be as good as "The Big Short", but the performances seem to be what saves it.

Daily Beast tears it apart and calls it "The Worst Movie of the Year"

they didnt watch The Predator it seems.

RastaMentality · Dec 17, 2018

latex said:
Ugh, I can't believe this is the film Amy Adams finally wins her Oscar for.

I mean I don't see why you're so sure about this when Regina's leading the pack.

Tansut · Dec 17, 2018

Obviously opinions are subjective and blah blah blah... but what a bummer this is receiving decidedly mixed reviews. I adored the trailer and have been psyched about this one ever since.

tormented · Dec 17, 2018

So was The Big Short a fluke or something?

Puck Beaverton · Dec 17, 2018

Sounds like the flaws of The Big Short amplified

RastaMentality · Dec 17, 2018

"Sam Rockwell's fun and charming take on George W. Bush is a blast—you know, if anyone was really eager to see Dubya completely absolved of his complicity because he was, as Vice portrays, nothing more than the clueless hoot."
This is what I was most afraid of.

Puck Beaverton said:
Sounds like the flaws of The Big Short amplified

Many of the narrative flourishes that proved sort of clever in The Big Short, from Margot Robbie riffing on subprime mortgages in a bubble bath to Selena Gomez unpacking collateralized debt obligations in a casino, really don't work here. The most glaring example is a scene in a fancy beltway restaurant wherein Alfred Molina, playing a waiter, serves a tableful of shady political operatives a menu with options like "enhanced interrogation." It's Borowitz-level satire—embarrassing and awfully reductive. Or what about the scene where a character describes the political climate as being as precarious as dozens of porcelain teacups towered high…only to have the action then cut to a literal tower of porcelain teacups swaying to and fro.

Seems like it.

UberTag · Dec 17, 2018

PhilosopherDirtBike said:
Sounds like a great Bale performance trapped in a movie that doesn't know what it wants to be

If I want to see a great lead male acting performance from this year in a movie that doesn't know what it wants to be, I think I'd rather watch Bohemian Rhapsody.

Deleted member 5853 · Dec 17, 2018

tormented said:
So was The Big Short a fluke or something?

More like, "Vice" was undercooked. This movie came together too quick, when the script definitely needed more time in the oven before it was ready to film.

Ridley327 · Dec 17, 2018

tormented said:
So was The Big Short a fluke or something?

I feel like it had the benefit of being able to successfully explain a complex ordeal in an entertaining way. One of the inherent problems with doing a film about Cheney is that everyone is well aware of him being a monster, so the details don't matter as much, and as some reviews have pointed out, it's hard to get excited about reliving one mortifying administration when we're in the midst of one again.

Atisha · Dec 17, 2018

My take from the trailer was "seems off with the funny tone" and rockwells portrayl of GW Bush as a bumbler is also ran. The Forbes Review stuck out to me. Was the nation complicit or completely hornswaggled? Thats a curiosity. I'm certainly not sure about that one way or another. I was a young one at that time. Anyway, it's on the Netflix for me.

ZeoVGM · Dec 17, 2018

A few of these reviews feel strange to me, as if they're upset that the film was too mean to Dick Cheney.

latex · Dec 17, 2018

RastaMentality said:
I mean I don't see why you're so sure about this when Regina's leading the pack.

If she's leading the pack then why did she get snubbed at SAG?

Deleted member 6949 · Dec 17, 2018

The Big Short was dumb as a sack of rocks, so these reviews don't surprise me.

Blablurn · Dec 17, 2018

reviews sometimes lie

Soapbox Killer · Dec 17, 2018

I'm confused as to how a movie can get nominated for Best Picture and still be considered "bad" by reviewers. They seem to stand further and further apart .

Blader · Dec 17, 2018

RastaMentality said:
"Sam Rockwell's fun and charming take on George W. Bush is a blast—you know, if anyone was really eager to see Dubya completely absolved of his complicity because he was, as Vice portrays, nothing more than the clueless hoot."
This is what I was most afraid of.

yeah, reading through of these, McKay's characterizations of Cheney and Bush sound really aggravating. Portraying Cheney as a cartoonish supervillain mastermind pulling the strings of a know-nothing, happy-go-lucky Bush undermines just how actually awful both of these men were. That's really disappointing to hear.

Bear · Dec 17, 2018

Yeah, I was hoping this would be great, but I find McKay's take on politics so heavy handed that it's not a surprise this takes the same tone.

wenis · Dec 17, 2018

Soapbox Killer Returns said:
I'm confused as to how a movie can get nominated for Best Picture and still be considered "bad" by reviewers. They seem to stand further and further apart .

the ones reviewing aren't the ones nominating. I could easily see a scenario where the nominators would think they're going to vote with what they think will be popular and jump the gun on a bandwagon that hasn't been built based off the directors last movie.

WhoTurgled · Dec 17, 2018

ah fuck I was so excited for this one

Haloid1177 · Dec 17, 2018

I'm in for the performances. Bale and Adams assuredly kill it.

Messofanego · Dec 17, 2018

I only watched The Big Short on Netflix because of Bale, and I'll do the same for Vice. Mediocre stories jazzed up with good performances.

Blader · Dec 17, 2018

wenis said:
the ones reviewing aren't the ones nominating. I could easily see a scenario where the nominators would think they're going to vote with what they think will be popular and jump the gun on a bandwagon that hasn't been built based off the directors last movie.

reminds me of when the HFPA nominated Wolf of Wall Street for best picture at the Golden Globes, despite no one having actually seen it at that point, just to make sure Marty and Leo would be at the party.

TheTyrant · Dec 17, 2018

It has been a bit since I have seen as many wildly different takes on the same hyped American film on twitter and in some of these reviews. You would think they were reviewing a modern Godard. I can't wait.

wenis · Dec 17, 2018

I'm still going to see this despite the reviews. good christmas day movie to be slightly hungover and high for.

TheTyrant · Dec 17, 2018

Blader said:
reminds me of when the HFPA nominated Wolf of Wall Street for best picture at the Golden Globes, despite no one having actually seen it at that point, just to make sure Marty and Leo would be at the party.

Wasn't that the satellite awards and not the globes? Or am I misremembering?

Deleted member 2809 · Dec 17, 2018

Damn it's getting shredded

Blader · Dec 17, 2018

TheTyrant said:
Wasn't that the satellite awards and not the globes? Or am I misremembering?

Well shit, looks like it was! Thanks for the correction. Never even heard of the Satellite Awards before :lol

mikehaggar · Dec 17, 2018

Huh... I thought the trailer I saw was really good and was planning on seeing this one. Now I'm not so sure...

TheTyrant · Dec 17, 2018

Blader said:
Well shit, looks like it was! Thanks for the correction. Never even heard of the Satellite Awards before :lol

It's cool, nobody really gives a shit about the satellite awards anymore. Also, the Globes are just as shady as them. We shall never forget The Tourist and the Tom Ford perfume bribery

Guzim · Dec 17, 2018

DMczaf said:
I'm only here for Bale.

Guzim

It's time.

DMczaf · Dec 17, 2018

Guzim said:
It's time.

Window · Dec 17, 2018

I didn't expect any different from Vice after watching the trailer tbh. Maybe I'm getting my references mixed up because McKay does come from a comedy background but I feel like with the Big Short and now this he's trying to channel a Scorsese farce on American greed without ever becoming truly ugly. My concerns with the trailer turned out to be true. I'll still watch this though for Bale and Adams and Rockwell.

FTF · Dec 17, 2018

Hmmm...expected higher/better after the great The Big Short. Still looking forward to it though.

Deleted member 8468 · Dec 17, 2018

Ah shame, I was looking forward to this too. Tough subject matter to get right, but so was the Big Short and I really enjoyed that. I'll still probably catch it when it hits a streaming platform.

Reviews for Adam McKay's "Vice" have arrived

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