Hoffman, as Gust Avrakotos, brings to the role the complete dedication he seems to once again have for every part he takes (and this was noted in the myriad of award nominations he received for this part). Roberts' Herring isn't as fully fleshed out as the other two leading roles, but every time she is on screen her presence seems to move the whole focus of the piece to her.

Nichols is able to keep everything moving in the film at an incredibly brisk pace, never spending too much time in any single location or scene. However, due to this pace, time passes rather abruptly and the film does not do a very good job helping the viewer keep track of the year (the bulk of the film takes place between 1980 and 1989).

Between Nichols' direction and Sorkin's script, war never seemed like so much fun. The film is still very careful to, on several occasions, show the plight of the Afghan refugees, and while the size of the camp is staggering, the camp does not appear quite as terrible as one imagines it should.

Whether a true sentiment or a false one, the film is also very careful to point out that while we helped Afghanistan fight the Soviets, we completely failed them after the Soviet withdrawal. The film makes no bones about the fact that it was our failure to help build infrastructure in Afghanistan that would eventually lead to the Taliban's taking over the country and some of the problems we face in the Middle East today.

The DVD release of Charlie Wilson's War features both a behind-the-scenes "making of" documentary and a great look into who Charlie Wilson actually is. As with the rest of the film, both of these featurettes are wonderfully interesting.

In the final summation, Charlie Wilson's War may feature a somewhat simplistic view of politics and foreign policy, but rarely allows the time to contemplate these shortcomings. It is, very much, an Aaron Sorkin piece, and anyone who enjoyed his work on The West Wing or anywhere else will find something to like in the film.