Writer/director Adam McKay uses the same approach to storytelling that he did for The Big Short. Here are excerpts from that review:
This feels like a Michael Moore documentary with reenactments by a great cast. Director Adam McKay has utilized several cinematic tools to tell a complex and confusing story: entertaining montages, snappy editing, quick scenes and clever comedy. The short-attention-span pacing and McKay’s wildly creative approach (with those absorbing performances) make the film entertaining and ultimately infuriating.
All of this applies to this film. as he takes on Dick Cheney (Christian Bale). He starts with his formative years and moves thru his career to the crucial powers that he wielded as Vice President during the Bush administration. Bale has made a remarkable visual transformation and on top of that, the performance is creepily compelling. The rest of the cast nails it too, often looking surprisingly like their real-life counterparts. This is a piece of masterful storytelling that will shed light on one of recent history’s most Machiavellian personalities. NOTE: Stay thru the early credits for a final scene that brings it all home.
(4.5 / 5)