The theme of this movie deserved better treatment. The story behind it was one for the ages.

If you do check it out, I encourage you to watch is extra short film, "Who is Charlie Wilson?" It is about thirteen minutes and it provides excellent insight into the man and the war he supported.

This movie appealed to me not because of the storyline, but because two of my favorite celebrities; Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts have finally been on screen together! I liked the chemistry between them but as a whole, I found "Charlie" a very boring and confusing movie. I'll admit that I have no interest in Charlie Wilson or the events that happened, so I found myself lost while trying to follow the storyline. The most interesting scenes were those of Roberts and Hanks. And because of that, I found myself scanning the film until I found scenes featuring the two of them. I know this wasn't a romance but I would love to see these two paired up again sometime. If you're renting this mainly as a fan of Tom Hanks, you may be surprised at this film. This is a Tom Hanks I've never seen before; occasional nudity and frequent use of the "F" word from Hanks made for a rather disturbing film from someone I admire as an actor.

Great acting, great director, fabulous story. If only we had put money into schools in Afghanistan. What could have happened??

Director Mike Nichols tries to square the circle here by portraying the largest clandestine war in U.S. history, the one that led to the creation of Al Qaeda and hence 9/11, as the guileless and well-meaning project of a lovable rake, the Democratic congressman from Texas, Charlie Wilson. At the end of the picture the viewer is supposed to be left muttering, "If only those louts in Congress would have listened to Charlie Wilson. . . ." It is a tougher sell in 2018 than when the movie premiered in 2007 given that in the last five years the U.S. has done the whole gigantic covert jihadi war thing all over again, this time in Syria, with Operation Timber Sycamore. Brought to us thanks not to a Republican administration but Barack Obama.

Interesting film, but not on I would watch a second time.

Turning points of history usually make lively viewing. In hindsight, or even in foresight, the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, and the West's support of the grotesque religious fanatics who lead the fight were horrible mistakes, responsible for the majority of turmoil in the world in 2016. The script is naive and somewhat one-sided, but the performances are good, with the exception of Ms. Roberts, whose brief appearance is easy to ignore.

Overlooking all the swearing and nudity this fact-based comedy-cum-drama still comes across as a fanciful Disney revisionist piece replete with sparkling personalities and a clearly defined line between the good guys and the bad guys. The American halls of power, here seen as a jocular cocktail party, provide little more than a colourful backdrop to Wilson’s visionary campaign with Hanks downing whiskey shots between bouts of moral indignation and Roberts rattling off political strategies while primping her eyelashes. Hoffman’s character however cuts straight to the heart of the film as a cynical, acid-tongued agent who has seen the results of too many “good intentions” to take much delight in Wilson’s victories. It is Hoffman’s performance, along with the venerable Om Puri as Pakistani president Zia, which give the film a welcome dose of gravitas while history itself provides the scathing irony.

It's worth watching.
Entertaining and instructive.
Those 3 main characters performed incredibly in this film.

Interesting. I learned about a period of history that I knew absolutely nothing about. The politics was a bit confusing for me at times but for the most part it was easy to follow. I wish I had known you see Tom Hanks' ass- I wasn't prepared for that lol!

This is a really good movie. Very interesting and a great job by Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Worth the watch if you like history and politics.