Movie · 2018 · Drama, Comedy · 2h 12m · R · English
Curator score: 4.1/10 (458.1K ratings)
The untold true story that changed the course of history.
Overview
George W. Bush picks Dick Cheney, the CEO of Halliburton Co., to be his Republican running mate in the 2000 presidential election. No stranger to politics, Cheney's impressive résumé includes stints as White House chief of staff, House Minority Whip and Defense Secretary. When Bush wins by a narrow margin, Cheney begins to use his newfound power to help reshape the country and the world.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.1/10
IMDb: 7.2/10
Letterboxd: 3.47/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 64%
Metacritic: 61
TMDB: 7.0/10
Director
Adam McKay
Production
Annapurna Pictures, Gary Sanchez Productions, Plan B Entertainment
Cast
Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Alison Pill, Eddie Marsan, Justin Kirk, LisaGay Hamilton, Jesse Plemons, Bill Camp, Don McManus, Lily Rabe, Shea Whigham, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Tyler Perry, Josh Latzer, Jeff Bosley, Camille James Harman, Jillian Armenante, Matthew Jacobs
Curator Review
Verdict
An ambitious, aggressively stylized political satire with strong performances and a sharp sense of outrage, but its smug tone and overstuffed, essay-like structure can be exhausting. It works best as a provocation and a showcase for Adam McKay’s maximalist approach, less well as a clean or emotionally satisfying drama.
Best for
Viewers who like political satire with a loud, essayistic style
Fans of transformation-heavy performances and ensemble acting
People interested in recent American political history
Audiences who enjoyed The Big Short or other fast-cut, didactic comedies
Skip if
You dislike heavy-handed narration and fourth-wall-breaking
You want a subtle, character-driven biopic
You are tired of cynical takes on modern politics
You prefer tonal consistency over constant style shifts
Overview
Vice is less a conventional biopic than a furious, hyperactive argument about power. It treats Cheney’s rise as a case study in how bureaucracy, ambition, and opportunism can quietly remap a country, and it does so with the kind of editorial swagger that alternates between clever and grating. The performances, especially the central transformation, give the film real bite even when the script is busy underlining its own points.
Worth noting
What makes it divisive is the same thing that makes it distinctive: McKay’s need to explain, joke, and indict all at once. The movie can feel tonally unstable, jumping from satire to tragedy to lecture, but that instability also mirrors the chaos and moral drift it’s describing. When it lands, it lands hard; when it doesn’t, it feels self-satisfied and overdetermined.
Bottom line
For viewers open to a brash, confrontational version of political cinema, it’s an engrossing watch with plenty of craft to admire. For anyone looking for nuance, restraint, or a more elegant portrait of power, it may be more exhausting than illuminating.
Top Letterboxd reviews
davidehrlich (1★) · 1837 likes
VICE is an *incredibly* damning portrait of Dick Cheney, in that verrrrry few people could inspire a movie this bad — this self-satisfied, this tonally incoherent, this misjudged — and *still* not have it rank among the 10 worst things they’ve ever done.
Adam McKay was an “important" filmmaker until the moment he started trying to become one. i have endless faith that he’ll figure things out, but these recent history disaster satires (disastires?) aren’t it.
matt lynch (1.5★) · 1585 likes
There are of course pieces of this that are funny and clever and maybe even occasionally startling...look man, it's hard to argue that it isn't at least engrossing. But don't be fooled, just like THE BIG SHORT this is another McKay film about how you aren't mad enough or informed enough, not as smart or caustic or active as you should be. The idea that nobody knew Dick Cheney was evil human garbage consumed by the pursuit of power and/or… more There are of course pieces of this that are funny and clever and maybe even occasionally startling...look man, it's hard to argue that it isn't at least engrossing. But don't be fooled, just like THE BIG SHORT this is another McKay film about how you aren't mad enough or informed enough, not as smart or caustic or active as you should be. The idea that nobody knew Dick Cheney was evil human garbage consumed by the pursuit of power and/or… more
Karsten (4★) · 1539 likes
Ugggghhhh I’m too young and uninformed about politics to understand how much of this was accurate or how good of a job they did at portraying Dick. So with that being said I guess that’s why I like it a bit more than the rest of Letterboxd. I loved the performances, I actually dug how unsubtle it is, despite some messiness and a few cringey scenes I’m sorry to say that I genuinely enjoyed this.
Josh Lewis (2★) · 898 likes
McKay is a smart, funny guy, and this is a necessary reminder for everyone that considers Trump a political anomaly and wants us to return to the "norms" and civility of past Republicans. But the style here, woof. Could not make sense of almost any of the visual or structural choices made. I mean it's far snarkier and more obnoxious and conceited to be sure, but this is still largely a Wikipedia page biopic (the most effective parts of this… more McKay is a smart, funny guy, and this is a necessary reminder for everyone that considers Trump a political anomaly and wants us to return to the "norms" and civility of past Republicans. But the style here, woof. Could not make sense of almost any of the visual or structural choices made. I mean it's far snarkier and more obnoxious and conceited to be sure, but this is still largely a Wikipedia page biopic (the most effective parts of this… more
Wes (1★) · 814 likes
well that answers my question: what would a biopic look like if it was baptized in monster energy
A dense, global-system drama about energy, policy, and the hidden costs of power.
Topics
political satire, biographical drama, dark comedy, American politics, post-9/11, power politics, satirical editing, ensemble performance, historical drama