With the Academy Awards coming up, AiPT! looks at Adam McKay's Vice.
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What do you say
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I want you to be my VP. The vice presidency is mostly a symbolic job
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However, we were to come to a different understanding. I can't handle mundane jobs like overseeing military, energy, foreign policy
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I like that. This isn't something a vice president really does, is it
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No. It is now. We did our. Gunshot Nominated for 8 Academy Awards, Vice is an Oscar contender in every sense of the word
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From outstanding performances to eye-catching direction, the movie looks and acts like an
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Academy Award nominee. But is Vice the real deal, or just another pretender to the throne
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There is no getting around how strong the performances in Vice are
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Most obvious is Christian Bale as Vice President Dick Cheney. Much has been written in the past about how far Bale will push his body to look the part
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of a role he is playing. Vice is more about the fantastic makeup, but the transformation is still stunning
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Which is not to say that Bale's performance is lacking. Bale does a great job as the powerful and villainous Vice President
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At times, Cheney says and does things that are only one step away from cackling wildly
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and twirling his mustache. Bale plays these parts to the hilt without ever reaching the cartoonish levels of villainy
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the script seems to be pushing for. It is the great performance from Bale that adds gravity and power to the film
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Bale also adds layers to Cheney. Make no mistake about it. The film casts Cheney as a literally heartless villain, and Bale does the characterization justice
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But it is in Vice's more tender moments that Bale's performance really stands out
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The movie never tries to force its audience to sympathize with the Cheneys, but it does
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show that the former VP was more than just a monster. Bale makes sure that these moments do not seem out of character or place with the tone
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of the film. It is impossible to discuss Bale's performance without talking about Amy Adams' great work
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as Cheney's wife Lynn. Throughout the film, Lynn is Cheney's rock. She is not content to sit on the sidelines and seems to be the person who turned her
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husband's life around. Adams does a great job of playing a woman who has to show strength, but just the right
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amount and only in the right times. Lynn's more personal moments are nothing like her husband's
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Whereas with Dick Cheney, we see a monster who has bits of humanity, Lynn is portrayed
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as single-minded in her approach and ideals. The moments when she does show her more humane side are well played by Adams and add depth
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to the character. Director Adam McKay uses many of the same tricks he employed in 2015's The Big Short
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Vice has the quick cuts, the references to pop culture, and the constant breaking of
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the fourth wall. The times when the movie stops to speak with its audience are the most effective
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The opening crawl makes it clear Vice is going to be a different type of biopic
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McKay's film also does a clever job of sliding into these moments and will catch the viewer
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off guard. These scenes are very entertaining. McKay's direction also encapsulates the biggest problems with Vice
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The film starts to throw too much at its audience. The quick cuts do a great job of showing the multitude of problems that are going on, but
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it also leads to sensory overload. It is almost impossible to not turn off parts of the film
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It's like watching a big budget action movie that is filled with two hours of nothing but explosions
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At some point it all becomes boring. This also affects the movie's pacing
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It's all over the place. When McKay allows his movie to slow down and draw people in is when it works best
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Unfortunately, the film throws highly advanced political terms around and chooses to name
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drop constantly. Vice tries its best to keep the audience up to speed, but in doing so has to slow down
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the movie. McKay has some good ideas, the problem is there's just too many of them
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The rest of the cast also put in great performances, but it's hard to care for any of the other characters
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Sam Rockwell is excellent as George W. Bush, and Steve Carell seems to be channeling Michael
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Scott as Donald Rumsfeld. The two put in very strong performances, but it's hard not to feel they both should have
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been given more time. Vice is a very good movie that tries to do a little too much and somehow doesn't do enough
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Those who lived through the Bush-Cheney administration will be very interested in the movie
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Those who have only heard of it or who have no interest at all will probably find this
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a very frustrating watch. For the coolest movie reviews, you can find us online at AIPT Comics
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You can also visit us on Twitter at AIPT Movies. You can also hear the latest news, reviews, and occasional interview on our now weekly
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