Vice (2018 film)

Vice grossed $47.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $28.2 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $76.1 million, against a production budget of $60 million.[3]

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Holmes & Watson on Christmas Day and was projected to gross around $13 million from 2,378 theaters over its first six days.[23][24] It made $4.8 million on its first day and $2.9 million on its second.[25] The film went on to have a first weekend gross of $7.8 million, for a six-day total of $17.7 million.[26] According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film performed its "best on both coasts, versus America's heartland, although some theaters in markets including Dallas, Houston and Phoenix turned in respectable business".[27] It then made $5.8 million in its second weekend and $3.3 million in its third.[28][29]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 65% based on 361 reviews, with an average rating of 6.70/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Vice takes scattershot aim at its targets, but writer-director Adam McKay hits some satisfying bullseyes—and Christian Bale's transformation is a sight to behold."[30] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score 61 out of 100, based on 54 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[31] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 72% and a 49% "definite recommend".[25] The critical response to Vice made it one of the worst-reviewed films to ever be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.[32][33]

Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Sam Rockwell's performances garnered Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Supporting Actor respectively.

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter, who named the film his favorite of 2018, wrote: "Across the board in Vice, everyone has risen to the occasion of their individual challenges, none of them easy, to collectively pull off a political satire that both provokes great laughs and hits home with some tragic truths".[34] Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film a "B–" and called it "messy but ambitious", writing: "Vice, in its rambunctious and unfocused manner, takes some ludicrous risks to make cogent points about Cheney's malicious intent—and how he put his plans into action".[35] By contrast, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian awarded the film 4/5 stars, and wrote that Bale "captur[es] the former vice-president's bland magnificence in Adam McKay's entertainingly nihilist biopic".[36]

Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers praised the film, giving it a 4/5 rating and writing: "Adam McKay's flamethrowing take on Dick Cheney, played by a shockingly brilliant Christian Bale, polarizes by being ferociously funny one minute, bleakly sorrowful the next, and ready to indict the past in the name of our scarily uncertain future."[37]

Stephanie Zacharek of Time gave the film a negative review, describing Vice as an "exhausting film that turns Dick Cheney into a cartoon villain".[38] Ikon London Magazine, while praising the make-up artistry of Greg Cannom,[39] noted that "the story reminds of a witch hunt".[40]

Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post praised Bale's performance as Cheney but criticized the story pacing, awarding the film 2/5 stars. Hornaday had issues with the film's structure, writing that the film is "a mess, zigging here and zagging there, never knowing quite when to end, and when it finally does, leaving few penetrating or genuinely illuminating ideas to ponder".[41] Similarly, Scott Mendelson of Forbes praised Bale's and Amy Adams's performances, but criticized the film as a "cinematic mediocrity". Most reviewers agreed with New Jersey attorney Arthur J. Maurello (now in retirement in South Dakota) that the presentation of issues of politics and governance in the movie was "simplistic".[42]

Numerous scenes from the film were identified as being historically inaccurate, heavily dramatized, or presented without necessary context.[43][44][45][46] Politifact stated that in certain scenes "the line between historic facts and poetic interpretation gets fuzzy".[43]

An important scene in the film that depicts Dick Cheney conversing with Antonin Scalia in the mid 1970s about expanding the power of the executive branch is totally fictional. However, Cheney did campaign for increased presidential authority.[43] In the scene the "theory of the unitary executive" is mentioned but the phrase did not become used by legal scholars until the late 1980s. Politifact says that the film also "butchers" the meaning of the unitary executive when in reality the theory says the president has ultimate control over the executive branch but the film represents the theory as advocating for the president to have unlimited powers.[43]

Dick Cheney's daughter and Congresswoman Liz Cheney criticized Christian Bale for his portrayal of her father in Vice, remarking during a Fox & Friends interview that "he finally had the chance to play a real superhero, and he clearly screwed it up". Liz also responded negatively to Bale's controversial acceptance speech for winning the Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Golden Globe for his portrayal of Cheney, in which the actor thanked Satan for inspiring him to play the role of Cheney.[47][48][49]

Vice was nominated for six Golden Globe Awards at the 76th annual ceremony, the most nominations of any film,[50] with Bale winning for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.[51] The film was subsequently nominated for eight awards at the 91st Academy Awards (winning Best Make-Up and Hairstyling),[52] nine awards at the 24th Critics' Choice Awards (winning Best Actor and Best Actor in a Comedy for Bale),[53] and six awards at the 72nd British Academy Film Awards (winning Best Editing).[54]