Movie Review: Charlie Wilson's War

Charlie Wilson's War arrives this weekend laden with so much heavyweight Hollywood talent, it's a wonder that it's got the strength to make it into cinemas. The three main stars and director have all won Oscars and been nominated many more times, while the writer is a celebrated Emmy Award winner.

Surprisingly, though, this is far from the sort of worthy yawn-fest that usually emerges when you put so much talent in a room together. It's the story of Charles Wilson, a womanising, party-loving Democratic congressman, who in the early 80s led a campaign to arm the freedom fighters of Afghanistan in their fight against the pesky Soviets.

Tom Hanks takes top-billing as Wilson, and this is exactly the sort of role Hanks excels at, turning a flawed man into a hugely likable figure. Julia Roberts pops up every now and then as a powerful right-wing Texan socialite, whose religious zeal is matched only by her absurd haircut and the quantity of foundation on her face. But as good as they are, it's Philip Seymour Hoffman's foul-mouthed, porn-star moustachioed CIA agent that steals every scene he's in.

Charlie Wilson's War is directed by veteran filmmaker Mike Nichols and written by The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin. Although Nichols is an old-hand at directing biting satire, this film seems far more a Sorkin creation. Cue lots of snappily delivered, hard-to-follow conversations between people marching up and down corridors – the language is a little spicier than you'd find on The West Wing but this is definitely cut from the same liberal cloth.

At just over 90 minutes, Nichols and Sorkin can only really hope for a simplified overview of this complex story, but the deft writing and enjoyable performances make it a hugely enjoyable mix of intelligent political drama and crowd-pleasing laughs.