While I disagreed with Bush’s politics when he was in office, I never really understood full-on Bush hatred. It seemed at best a tacky trend, and at worst, a complete waste of energy. It seems strange to me that one person could be a lightning rod for the beliefs and decisions of so many people. Especially the same person who had an 80% approval rating in 2002.

Sometimes I wonder if he would have been received differently had he been from another state. It never fails to intrigue me how much Texas is a part of Bush’s legacy. There is a lot of Texas mythology in the film, from football to belt buckles to the soundtrack.

The movie has an excellent cast, which is a shame, because I thought most of the performances were rather stilted, Josh Brolin’s and Elizabeth Banks’ being notable exceptions. Richard Dreyfuss did an pretty good job as Cheney.

Overall, the movie is definitely worth consuming. I think it’s particularly interesting that it was independently financed. I just wish Stone had included Bush’s full eight years in the movie, or perhaps waited a few years to get a little more perspective. Then again, I’m sure some filmmaker will pick up where Stone left off eventually.

Oliver Stone is known for making overblown movies, and W. is certainly over-the-top. But that doesn’t make it a bad movie. It can get heavy-handed at times, but the movie is well-put-together, and there are some really great performances. Josh Brolin plays someone very familiar but makes it fresh, Jeffrey Wright is heartbreakingly good at times as Colin Powell, and Richard Dreyfuss’s Dick Cheney is deliciously devious. I found the biggest weakness of W. to be that it just peters out: you get the man’s life – or Stone’s version of it – from University until almost the end of his first term, and then…nothing. I think W. would have made a really good movie if it had been made two years from now, but as it stands, it’s only pretty good.

This movie was good, but a bit depressing. I still can’t believe we elected this idiot for two terms . . . oh, wait – he stole 2000 (via Florida) and stole 2004 (via Ohio), so we didn’t really elect him at all. Worst. President. Ever.