What a strange, surreal, and somewhat irrelevant movie this is. While entertaining from beginning to end, and featuring an outstanding performance by Josh Brolin, the movie feels so… I don’t know… last millennium… now in the wake of President-Elect Barack Obama. When I saw this movie three weeks ago, we lived in a different world. Now, looking back on the movie is like looking back on the last eight years. It’s time for the past to become the past! But it’s not fair to be judgmental on the merits of Oliver Stone’s movie. It’s a sweeping biopic, filled with powerful moments, terrific performances, and sharp jabs at a President who in reality is treated more than fairly in this film. This film could’ve (easily) been a two-hour condemnation of the Bush years, but Stone wisely tries to delve into the material with more of an open mind, delegating more of the blame to those around Bush than the man himself. While Bush has to take some of the blame, there was probably more influence on him that we’ll ever realize, both before his two terms in office and during those tumultuous eight years (with two more months still to go!). Oliver Stone is famous for his biopics, but the Stone of the new century has been a nicer one. World Trade Center two years ago was a very Hollywood-ized account of the September 11 attacks, and W. now stands as a more fair and controversy-free tale than the more provocative Platoon, JFK, and Nixon. The cast is mostly excellent, with Brolin continuing to prove that he’s had way more to offer these last few years than most films had given him the chance to express. I’m already looking forward to his supporting role in Gus Van Sant’s new movie Milk. Richard Dreyfuss is effectively nasty as Dick Cheney, James Cromwell is great as always playing Papa Bush, and Jeffrey Wright is memorable as Colin Powell. Nobody really screws up here, but if there’s one performance that feels a bit off, it’s Thandie Newton, playing Condeleeza Rice, looking almost identical to the real lady but saying her lines in a way that suggests she’s bouncing around a Saturday Night Live sketch. The most fascinating aspect to the movie is the complicated relationship between Bush and Bush Sr, a son who in many ways needed to impress his father to win his affection. The strangely identifiable father-son relationship in the film pushes me to recommend the movie, but the true testament to W. will be to see how it’s looked upon a decade from now, when we’ll be able to have more a perspective on the eight years of Bush. The film is very interesting, sometimes comeplling, certainly well-made, but for now it leaves the viewer a bit empty inside. And now, with the hope of a man named Obama, I’ll gladly look forward instead of back.