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Avg. Critic Score: 56 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 Iffy for 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    W., a biography of President Bush, is fascinating. No other word for it. Read full review

  • 80
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    The pleasure of Mr. Stone's work has never been located in restraint but in excess, a commitment to extremes that can drown out the world or, as in this film, give it newly vivid, hilarious and horrible form. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    In the end, W. makes up in immediacy what it lacks in objectivity. Read full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    The performances are good (some scarily realistic), and the movie is enjoyable to watch. But as a probing analysis of the 43rd president, it falls short. Read full review

  • 70
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    W. is not a dispassionate biography; it is an interpretation of personality intersecting with history, and as a piece of drama it is persuasive and perfectly creditable. Read full review

  • 63
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Whatever you think of Dubya, he has balls. The movie doesn't. Read full review

  • 58
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    The intrepid one is the outstanding Josh Brolin, who does such a phenomenal job in the title role that he carries every scene he's in to a place of subtlety and integrity far beyond what Stone needs to make his attention-grabbing noise. Read full review

  • 50
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    It's a gutsy movie but not necessarily a good one. Its greatest strength is that it wants to talk about what's on our minds right now and not wait for historians. Read full review

  • 50
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    For a film that could have been either a scorching satire or an outright tragedy, W. is, if anything, overly conventional, especially stylistically. Read full review

  • 40
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    Why this movie -- a rushed, wildly uneven, tonally jumbled caricature -- and why now? Read full review

View more reviews for W. on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 14+ Tepid telling of 43rd president's rise to power.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that adults are more likely than kids to be interested in this high-profile film about the life of President George W. Bush. The movie spends half its time examining what appears to be a dysfunctional relationship between Bush and his father (an account that the people portrayed may not agree with) and the other half looking at a presidency that may have been too reliant on other types of dysfunctional relationships (it's not clear whether it's all fact-based). Bush's early struggles with alcoholism are examined -- there are tons of scenes of him drinking -- as is his search for a higher purpose. There's also a fair amount of swearing (including "f--k") and cigarette smoking.
  • Families can talk about the film's point of view on the younger Bush's presidency. What appears to have influenced his policies? How is this shown? What about the movie's focus on the father-son dynamic? How does director Oliver Stone portray that relationship's importance and influence over the presidency? Families can also discuss how accurate they think the film is. Why might filmmakers bend the truth when making a movie based on real life? Do you think Stone had a specific agenda in making this movie? If so, what was it?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: The film shows the transformation of an aimless man into a president who hopes his father is finally proud of him. Lots of father-son drama makes for a dysfunctional relationship, but the love between the two is palpable, too. Laura and George's marriage is portrayed as supportive and loving. In stark contrast, Cabinet meetings appear contentious and even manipulative, and dogma often seems to trump reasoned decision-making.
What to watch for
  • violence false2 Violence: A father and a son have loud fights, one of which almost turns physical. News footage of the Iraq war is shown, including explosions, bombings, bloodied victims, and bodies in the streets. A fair amount of discussion about war tactics.
  • sex false4 Sex: A husband kisses his wife; earlier he's shown kissing a girlfriend. Reference to W. getting someone pregnant.
  • language false3 Language: Language includes "hell," "goddamn," "p---y," "bulls--t," "jacks--t," and, twice, "f--k."
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Mostly labels for beer and hard liquor brands, including Johnny Walker and Svetyev vodka. Mentions of Yale and Harvard, and logos for TV shows.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Lots of drinking at fraternities and bars in the years before W. went into AA. Lots of smoking, too, as was common during the time the movie takes place.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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