The Contender

source: The Contender

This is my kind of movie. There are wonderful performances by Joan Allen and a cast of great character actors. Jeff Bridges, who I generally don't care that much for, is able to change my perception of his character as the movie evolves. The structure of this movie requires that the audience pay attention. There are subtle plot threads running throughout the movie that pique the interest without revealing too much. Some of the things I guessed - some were a surprise. The plot unfolds nicely. If you like the "West Wing" or the politics of the "American President" (there is no love story angle here however), you will most likely enjoy this movie.

I don't know about you, but I've been waiting and waiting for another one. And here it is--swelling, patriotic music in the background as a character makes a soul-stirring speech; instant, standing ovations from an audience of BOTH political parties (har-dee-har-har); villains run out on rails; and a couple of 'surprises' that you'd have to be blind and deaf not to have spotted coming down the track an hour before. Throw in some titillating sexual innuendo and you've got it--the perfect lefty-p.c.-patriot movie. Oh, yes, and a president whose character is written SO skillfully; every time you see him, he's on the phone ordering another gourmet meal from the White House kitchen. What a fun guy. What a gimmick. Pass on this one. Read a good book instead.

I have just finished watching an amazing political movie that left me gasping at it brilliance. The Script,the acting and Story is quite simply outstanding. Joan Allen plays a governer who is in line and is the prefered choice as Vice President. Along the way there are poeple who dont like the idea of a woman being the president's right hand man....Woman. Gary Oldman plays the congress leader who rakes up sexual rumours and any inuendo to make sure she falls at the first hurdle. Oldman is wonderfull as is Jeff Bridges as the president. The Diologue is straight from the top drawer is has you gripped from the first minute and does not let go until the very end. The Contender is a Contender for one of my all time favourites. 10 out of 10

The Contender is a brilliantly done white house political scandal drama. Before seeing this film, my favorite in this type of genre was All the President's Men (and it still is), followed closely by Wag the Dog. However this film intrigued and interested me even more than Wag the dog, which was directed well by Levinson but carried by the performances of Hoffman and DeNiro. The Contender's relatively more ensemble cast, we get great realistic performances from the entire cast, especially Christian Slater and Jeff Bridges. Joan Allen was also decent as a female senator. I thought Gary Oldman's performance was great, i loved him in this role as a conservative senator. The film is perfect, perfect acting with great direction, its always interesting and very realistic. This is an instant favorite of mine, 10/10 #64 on my list of all-time favorite films.

Wow! What a powerful and impressive film. Reminiscent of one of my favorite political movies, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" in the fact that a politician is lambasted by peers for her position on the issues as well as her personal life. Laine Hanson definitely has more of an edge than Jefferson Smith did--she doesn't have the same innocence and naivete that Stewart portrayed, but her performance is no less a tour de force. Jeff Bridges is wonderful as the President and Gary Oldman (as usual) is amazing in the role of the Committee Chairman. This is a great film, I'd definitely recommend it--I'd pay $9 to see it again.

There are a few entertaining moments. Some of the dialog is brilliant. Some the acting is excellent, especially a couple of soliloquies. However, the plot is lifeless, and the ending is largely deus ex machina. The characters are difficult to care about or identify with, because they're all either flat, unbelievable, foolish, or unpleasant. In particular, the central character, Senator Laine Hanson, shows a level of determination, ethics, principles, and public dedication to unpopular causes that is completely unlike any real politician, because it would be political suicide. As a result she's unconvincing. Worse, her motivations are kept a mystery for most of the film, preventing us from fully sympathizing with her. This movie is a sequence of well delivered political speeches, strung together by a negligible plot and shallow characters. Several segments totaling about 10 minutes are entertaining. The rest is boring.

This movie is basically about politicians trying to ruin other fellow politician's careers for their own benefits. But the accusations they make to each other are SO naive and harmless compared to how evil, greedy and ruthless politicians really are that I find it hard to believe that somebody can take this movie seriously. And the touching final speech that the president addresses - where he "shows" how honest and good hearted a President can be - is ridiculous. The only reason why I rated this movie with a 4 instead of a 2 is that The Contender can be a bit entertaining if you don't stop to think that they are portraying powerful politicians, maybe the the most despicable of the species that inhabit the earth. I found the movie offensive to my intelligence. Gary Oldman has a good performance, but nothing as good as he can be. If you like to get in touch with reality, skip this movie.

This movie's about agendas, but what about the movie itself. How do you paint a beautiful picture about American politics? That's what it does. Gary Oldman represents all the bad parts while Joan Allen represents all the idealistic parts. In this Hollywood piece of crap, good triumphs over evil, even in Washington D.C. Does anyone believe that? Who produced this movie? The conservatives are made out to be these horrific, old monsters, while the liberals are all beautiful and righteous. Lucky for the liberals! But, I don't really care about Republicans and Democrats. Sam Elliot had the most important line in the movie: "We AREN'T any better than them!!!"

Surprisingly tense political thriller with no assassination attempts (except for character assassination) and no wars or bombings. The drama is tense but also thoughtful; the writers had much to say about the prurient tendencies of the press and the body politic. Joan Allen is superb as usual (she has an uncanny knack for choosing roles that suit her seemingly chilly demeanor), but Jeff Bridges and Gary Oldman as just as good. Even Christian Slater is pretty good. The whole shebang is endangered, however, by a major glitch. Allen's character is chosen to be Vice President largely for her bipartisan bona fides. She is a Democratic Senator who has recently switched parties; her political beliefs as revealed by the confirmation process, however, would have made her anathema to the Republican Party (not to mention probably unelectable as a Democrat). The filmmakers stacked the deck less than one would expect, but the deck was stacked nonetheless.