The story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways th... Read allThe story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that are still felt today.The story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that are still felt today.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 35 wins & 139 nominations total
- Mary Matalin
- (as Camille Harman)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
To put it bluntly, it was the worst administration of all time, and as the film states early, I think that many Americans have either forgotten it or never really paid attention to it completely. When Democrats describe their worst fears of possible Trump disasters, I don't think that they know that they are describing things that *actually occurred* during the first decade of this century. When Bale as Cheney looks directly into the camera and delivers a monologue-- or postmortem-- about his tenure as vice president, it might remind you of Emperor Palpatine's rationalizations in the Star Wars prequels. As the film shows, at the time there were justifications for unitary executive privilege that were written by a single moron and apparently regarded as gospel-- and can be used as precedent by future presidents. And I probably don't need to remind you about the most unjustified, wasteful, moronic and disastrous war in American history, which he strongly advocated and for which the entire world is continuing to pay a heavy toll. This film is actually important.
Finally, Bale is my choice for best lead actor of 2018. It was a tour de force performance.
If this film has any slight problems for me, I didn't like some of its artistic license. Sometimes I wanted it to be more straightforward. But it's a must watch.
Director Adam McKay holds this movie back from being great. He lays on the metaphors with the thickness of grandma's lasagna. And much like when eating the lasagna, a little goes a long way. Unfortunately, McKay feeds us an unneeded second helping. And a third.
That's not to say Mckay did a terrible job directing this movie. He didn't. Most of the film has a strong, resonant message wrapped in an entertaining and hilarious packaging. Much like in "The Big Short," McKay cleverly communicates complicated material in a way that's easy for any viewer to understand. And this is all accomplished without being condescending, except for when it is.
McKay doesn't put enough trust in viewers to comprehend what he's saying. The cutaways to literal representations of hunting and fishing feel a bit insulting and clunky. They're unnecessary. Christian Bale is masterful chef. Just keep the camera on him and let him cook.
For the most part, the movie is thoroughly enjoyable, largely because of the way it sheds light on the ridiculousness of the events unfolding. It's a funny movie at times because it's so appalling. Other times it's too appalling to be funny.
Critics may point out that the story is not a bi-partisan take. To be clear: it's not and it's not trying to be. McKay is disgusted by what Dick Cheney and other political figures did, and he makes his feelings painfully clear. This approach leads to some of the movie's most fascinating moments but also led to its partial undoing. If McKay had just been willing to trust that moviegoers would understand his message if presented it with a touch more subtlety (they would have) this would be a smarter and more ultimately more widely praised film.
Factual aspects are suspect throughout, but the purpose of this film was entertainment, and in that respect, this is engaging and engrossing.
Just take the details of events with a grain of salt. I know a couple of the individuals spotlighted well, and have met almost all of them via notable political family member. It makes for good drama and humor, but a lot of bs is added that is flat out inaccurate and/or applies twisting of events towards misrepresentative. It relies heavily upon "Confirmation Bias" to achieve some level of audience buy-in; the favorite manipulative tool of today's media in all forms.
That being stated, this is great entertainment and utilizes brilliant filmmaking techniques that magnify the satirical-fun objectives of the film.
More evidence Christian Bale is one of the most skilled actors on the planet, and the Bale/Adams pairing sealed as a legendary success formula. All the actors scored, as did the direction, photography, editing, and screenwriting.
Great entertainment for certain.
There's not much about Dick Cheney that I had not already known. The story of a hell raising kid from Wyoming who rose to be among the movers and shakers of our country might be considered an American success story. If he had only used his talents for the creation of a little good in the world I might be more favorably disposed.
As a Vice President Cheney is also unique in truly becoming an assistant President and actually making policy. In our history the only other one like that who comes to mind is Martin Van Buren who Andrew Jackson's Vice President in Jackson's second term.
The real surprise in this was Amy Adams who played Lynne Chaney. I never knew that much about her and she has a really great scene where kickstarts her drunken boyfriend Cheney basically saying shape up and make something of yourself in this world that men run. Fascinating the response here. Lynne Chaney says work the system, someone like Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the same situation makes up her mind to change things. Amy Adams got a Best Supporting Actor nomination as did Sam Rockwell for Best Supporting Actor.
Still Vice is driven by the Best Actor nominee Christian Bale and his portrayal of Richard Cheney. It's a many sided portrayal and Cheney does not come out all bad. For instance he's shown as being supportive of his lesbian daughter Mary Cheney. Qualify that by saying he also realizes among the crowd he seeks to court for votes having an out lesbian daughter isn't going make him friends. Lynne Chaney realizes that even more.
Bale got an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and the film was up for Best Picture and several other awards. It only won in the Makeup category.
Most interesting role was that of Jesse Plemons, an every man sort of character who narrates the film and has a unique relationship with Richard Cheney. You find out if you watch the movie.
An interesting look at some of our recent American past through the eyes of a consummate insider.
Did you know
- TriviaChristian Bale said that due to the improvisational directing style of Adam McKay, he had to do more research for this film than any other film he's done. In order to ad-lib in character, Bale not only needed to have Dick Cheney's mannerisms and vernacular down, but he also had to know which policies, their instances, and abbreviations the Vice President would be aware of at any given moment in his life.
- GoofsIn the movie, all the characters including Cheney family members, pronounce the family name as "chain-y". The Cheney family has always pronounced their name as "cheen-y".
- Quotes
Anonymous: Beware the quiet man. For while others speak, he watches. And while others act, he plans. And when they finally rest... he strikes.
- Crazy creditsA fake end credits runs midway through the movie.
- ConnectionsEdited into Vice: Deleted Scenes (2019)
- SoundtracksSend Me the Pillow You Dream On
Written and Performed by Hank Locklin
Courtesy of RCA Records Label Nashville
By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment
- How long is Vice?Powered by Alexa
- What is the running time?
- How come Dick Cheney never apologized to the man that he "accidentally" shot?
- How did they get Steve Carrell to play Donald Rumsfeld?
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- El vicepresidente: más allá del poder
- Filming locations
- Kern River, California, USA(Fly fishing scenes)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $60,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $47,836,282
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,768,371
- Dec 30, 2018
- Gross worldwide
- $76,073,488
- Runtime2 hours 12 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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