User reviews

One of the major events that President George W. Bush will undoubtedly be remembered for in history will be his decision to declare war on Iraq in 2003. If we recall back to early 2003 when the administration was laying out its reasons for invading Iraq, the one most marketed to the American public was the idea that Saddam Hussein was in the process of creating chemical or nuclear weapons, which he would then give to terrorists who could then use them to attack American cities. Of course, soon after the war began it was discovered that these weapons either never existed or no longer existed, and to this day no one in the CIA or federal government has been able to explain how the intelligence community could have gotten it so wrong.

"Fair Game" places itself right in the middle of these controversial events between 2002 and 2004, and is told through the eyes of CIA Agent Valerie Plame (played very convincingly by Naomi Watts) and her husband, United Nations Ambassador Joe Wilson (played fiercely by the always great Sean Penn). The film's story follows how Plame goes from patriotic CIA agent diligently doing her job overseas to suddenly having her identity made public after her husband uncovered false information about a nuclear development sale between Iraq and Niger. This false information about a uranium sale between these two countries is important because it was implied as factual when Bush was listing information about Iraq during his State of The Union Speech in early 2003.

As the film starts, Plame and Wilson appear to be a very loving couple with a very strong marriage - they even have 2 small children who live with them in the D.C. area. Plame is busy traveling covertly to countries in The Middle East to shake her fist at people whom might have ties to terrorists, while Wilson is back at home, often finding himself in heated arguments with friends at the dinner table whom hold a different opinions from his own. Both Plame and Wilson appear to be relatively non-political civilians working peacefully and dutifully for the federal government - until the Bush administration decides that the country should invade Iraq. After Wilson criticizes the administration's faulty information publicly, Plame is then fired from her job, and much of the rest of the film focuses on how the couple's marriage is stressed because of what is transpiring all over the media. People harass them often when they go out, as Wilson makes rounds on the media circuit to try to restore his name. The film has a little bit of a soap-operish feel to it during the 2nd half in that it is mostly focused on the couple's relationship, but the acting performances by Watts and Penn are just so sharp that they make up for some of the film's small flaws when it comes to storytelling. There is also a small subplot involving a family in Iraq connected with Plame's counter-proliferation efforts that should have been either developed more or left out entirely, as that is the weakest part of the film - but fortunately those scenes are relatively few in the entire film.

Aside from the acting, another of the film's strengths is how it never gets too preachy towards the Bush administration, but rather focuses on the facts of what unfairly happened to Plame and Wilson from their own points of view. In fact, no actor plays Bush or Cheney in the film - we only see a few clips of the real Bush and Cheneys giving speeches on TV screens for a matter of seconds. Scooter Libby (portrayed a bit villainously by David Andrews) is seen in a few short scenes as a swindler who tries to convince CIA employees into manipulating the intelligence the way he sees it, but his characterization is very subtle, rather than as an in your face bad guy. Doug Liman's direction is also fairly fast-paced to make sure the film never gets too bogged down in pointless scenes. Even though it is very talky and dialogue-driven, the narrative keeps moving forward at a crisp pace - at least if audience members are adults without ADD (and I think it's pretty fair to say that this movie isn't marketed for the Transformers or Twilight crowd...) The film generally works very well both as an entertaining drama, spy thriller, and an educational lesson. Moreover, it's an intelligent reminder to the public of how people in positions in power in government will often stop at nothing to achieve their desired goals, even if that means illegally abusing their power through misinformation, manipulation, and character assassination. As citizens we should constantly be questioning our leaders and their motives, as well as keeping them honest and holding them accountable whenever they they violate our trust.

On a final note, I have to say that I find it very refreshing to see a film like this that has a woman in a very intelligent leading role, rather than how Hollywood films usually stereotype females in formulaic romantic comedies. It seems like women in major roles usually have their sappy characters obsessing about trying to find a man and buying shoes, with some slapstick and comedy at the dinner table with their parents thrown in as well (a.k.a. chick flicks). It's either that or the female characters get almost zero screen time, where they are relegated to simply being the cute girlfriend sidekick. It's nice to see movies like this allow womens' dramatic acting talents to shine and allow us to see them as complex, real characters.

First of all: I'm not an American, so I have no interest in any of the left wing vs right wing political immaturity that goes on there. And since I'm being honest: if this film was a work of fiction - it wouldn't have been that great, maybe a 6/10 IMDb rating.

What makes this film absolutely mind blowing is that this stuff actually happened. Wow! You can argue the little details if you wish, but the bulk of this is public record and you're not kidding anyone. This gets an 8/10 on IMDb from me because it's non-fiction and it's a very very important story.

The war in Iraq was a crime and the guilty should be required to watch this movie, a few times. How many thousands of lives could have been saved? Feel shame and learn from your mistakes. Get mad! Don't ever be fooled like this again!!!

Frankly this movie should be shown in schools for the next 100 years - it should be considered required viewing in History classes. I think it's important that this little piece of the past is not swept under the rug anytime soon. I praise the makers of this film, I praise Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame.

Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it - so cherish this 108 minute reminder of America's greatest mistake.

In retrospect, the George "Dubyah" Bush administration seems to have been more incompetent than evil, but this movie holds the Bushies to account for what was a completely malicious and unjustified act, the outing of the covert CIA operative Valerie Plame, which put numerous undercover operations and informants at risk, solely because her husband former Ambassador Joe Wilson IV had the temerity to dissent publicly from the White House line that the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had tried to buy uranium from Niger for bomb-making purposes. It is also evident that the CIA's soundly based advice that Saddam's bomb-making activities had ceased after the first Gulf War in 1991 was studiously ignored by the White House in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The actual leaker, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage got away scot-free, a crucial matter not discussed in the film , but "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Chaney's chief of staff carried the can and nearly spent 30 months inside for lying to investigators before being pardoned by the President. The film focuses on Libby and implies he was the leaker, acting with the knowledge of Karl Rove, the man who described Valerie Plame as "fair game", and Vice President Cheney.

Director Doug Liman is best known as a producer of thrillers ("Bourne Ultimation" etc) but here he and the Butterworths (Jez and John Henry) as scriptwriters have focused not only on the political intrigue but also the effect the Bushies' bastardry had on Joe and Valerie's personal lives. This gives some great acting possibilities to Sean Penn as Joe and our very own Naomi Watts as Valerie, and they both rise to the occasion, although Sean Penn might be a little self-righteous for some tastes. The personal impact aside, what the leakers did was a good deal worse than anything Julian Assange has done, and it is ironic that some of the conservative commentators who tried to discredit Joe and Valerie are now in the front line of those attacking the Wikileaks founder.

Regardless of the politics, this movie is entertaining enough to pass the watch test despite some dodgy hand-held photography. Near the end Valerie has a meeting with a very senior CIA officer glimpsed earlier, on a park bench in front of the White House. This man, played by Bruce McGill, bears a remarkable physical resemblance to the then director of the CIA, George Tenet. He warns her that she and Joe are up against the most powerful men in the world and asks her to stay silent for the sake of the agency. Valerie points out the agency won't even give her family any protection against death threats, to which Tenet, if that's who it's meant to be, merely shrugs his shoulders. What are the film makers trying to say here - that the agency doesn't look after its own?

Both Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame were patriots and, I believe, from Republican backgrounds. This did not bother the leakers who clearly couldn't care less who they hurt in the propaganda battle over the Iraqi invasion they were determined to launch. This film is based on two books by Joe and Valerie so I suppose it is a somewhat partisan account. Nevertheless it is hard to imagine a film treatment justifying what was done to them. George Bush in his memoirs mentions the Libby pardon issue but is otherwise silent on who did what. Never mind, his place in history as one of the lesser presidents is assured.

From the opening scene in Malaysia to the mines of Niger and then to the streets of Baghdad, "Fair Game" begins as an espionage thriller, a "Bourne" film without the obligatory car chases, shootouts and fights, but rather, with a woman who uses her brains and intellect.

Once the film shifts its focus back in the United States of America, the film takes a slight turn to the dramatic route and thus may seem melodramatic with this married people's lives being tinkered with and with no one but each other to help them. Having said that, "Fair Game" (no, not that dreadful Cindy Crawford/William Baldwin cheeseball) is a remarkably well-crafted political thriller that is driven home with outstanding, terrific performances by both Naomi Watts and especially Sean Penn.

Whether you believe the many questions posed in the film are truth or merely lies (whether the agency really did take that drastic measure to cover up what the government did not want to hear to prevent the war... or is this all propaganda from the start?), I really can't say, because this happened in another country far away from my home, so I have no right to say whose side I'm on.

Watts plays CIA agent Valerie Plame whose cover gets blown and who gets blamed for the leak of wrong information to the White House, who uses said information to invade Iraq. Is this all true? Suppose it is, given that the news footage of both at-the-time President Bush and Vice President Cheney look strikingly foreshadowing when compared to the events in the movie - this is meant to provoke outrage at the government's so-called "ignorance and stupidity" so they say, so what? I'm not saying anything to make myself sound like I'm on the wrong line, nor am I saying anything to disprove the film's "facts" either. I'm just stating that this is a great drama, no matter what you believe.

See, the thing with drama is that fact can and will be fictionalized so that it may be accepted easily by the ever-interested audience. "Fair Game" may be slow-paced and devoid of action sequences ala Doug Liman's previous blockbuster efforts, but here not a moment lost my interest, even the dramatic ones between Watts and Penn, as they ignite the screen with fiery performances, as this political scandal isn't only affecting their jobs and their reputations, it's also affecting their love life. And it's crumbling as things go from bad to worse in this film.

Watts is superb in this film. In the beginning she acts very convincingly as a strong, determined, iron-willed woman, mother, and wife who is very confident about herself and not willing to push into any demand that comes at her way. Later after the scandal is spread she slowly but surely devolves into a woman that is filling with desperation and fear, until she nearly loses control of her downward spiral. Ditto with Sean Penn here. He is absolutely mesmerizing, as always, as Plame's husband Ambassador Joe Wilson. Soft spoken and charming when he needs to, but when he's angry he makes everyone feel the rage without becoming too overdone. Wilson as portrayed by Penn is a character who's not about to let this scandal get in the way of his family, so he decides to clear his and his wife's name by using the media and criticizing the government. Of course, his wife isn't happy about this and it causes more tension between them. Penn and Watts show terrific chemistry together that hasn't been lost since "21 Grams" and both of them vividly portray not politicians trying to get the truth, but rather more of a family trying to pull themselves together. So it's not entirely an espionage thriller like this film was sadly marketed as. The supporting actors are also great in their own right.

This film does pose a lot of questions that make one think during the movie about the purpose and cause of the Iraq war, the invasion and more importantly, the power and impact the US government has on their own people and the various ways they can abuse it on them to get whatever they want. And this is proved with the decaying lives of Plame and Wilson from American citizens to branded traitors. You can't imagine how they really felt, but Penn and Watts come really, REALLY close to it.

The film has it's flaws, though. The pacing could be a little bit tighter and the dialog in Iraq doesn't sound genuinely Iraqi. However, Doug Liman's direction is enough to keep the tension gripping and the film focused on the characters and not just glimpses of the war and scandal themselves. John Powell's music score is refreshingly low-key and it suits the dramatic mood of the film even better. Liman's cinematography (pulling a double duty here) is nicely framed without excessive style to it, making it simple, easy to watch, and gripping. Editing is fluid and the screenplay is written very well with equal amounts of intelligence and emotions.

In short, this is a superbly fine drama of the lives of the people in the limelight of this political scandal, with terrific performances and strong direction worthy of a theater ticket. Go see this movie and savor the performances and the question of the US government on its own people.

I find it strangely coincidental that the filmmakers from the "Jason Bourne" series both released movies this year that criticize the Bush administration. Doug Liman made this film, while Paul Greengrass made the slightly superior "Green Zone" and even managed to bring star Matt Damon with him. Composer John Powell scored both films. You can think of this movie as a companion piece to "Green Zone", hell, you can imagine the events in both movies happening at the same time. Now THAT would be a wicked idea.

Overall rating: 80/100

Valerie Plame Wilson (Naomi Watts) is a woman with double life: she is the wife of the former Ambassador Joe Wilson (Sean Penn) and mother of two children. But she is also and efficient CIA Operations Officer working in the Nonproliferation Center and in charge of several operations.

In 2003, when Bush administration manipulates the information relative to massive destruction weapons to justify the invasion of Iraq, Joe Wilson writes an article in the New York Times criticizing the government and telling that the intelligence research had been manipulated. In reprisal, the government leaks Valerie's identity to discredit Joe, affecting their professional and private lives and almost destroying their marriage.

"Fair Game" is a bold film about the life of Valerie Plame Wilson, who has had her life destroyed by Bush administration in part of the farce about the existence of massive destruction weapons in Iraq to justify the invasion of that nation. But it seems that later the Wilson family wrote two books and won lawsuits against members of the government and they might have resolved their lives at least financially speaking.

The film glances also at the lives of Iraqi scientists that trusted on Valerie and were murdered by the Iraqi secret service, but does not show the fate of the civilian population that had their country bombed and invaded due to a farce. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Jogos de Poder" ("Power Game")

"When did the question move from 'Why are we going to war?' to 'Who is this man's wife?'"

Fair Game takes the huge media storm of a few years ago surrounding the leaked identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, and focuses on the strain placed on her and her family by the intentional exposure of her identity by government officials in retaliation for her husband's infamous New York Times op-ed piece. 

Movies based on actual, heavily politically-charged events usually aren't my thing, but Naomi Watts as Valerie and Sean Penn as her husband really do an excellent job of conveying this serious, and at times troubling, story. Watts portrays Plame as an intelligent and capable woman who is easy to sympathize with. As she's effectively blocked out from her job at the CIA and her personal life begins to swiftly unravel, she keeps a steely resolve that's wholly believable. And while Sean Penn doesn't have to stretch far for his character, he also makes him feel like a genuine person. Great acting from them both to compliment the solid script. 

Anyone even casually interested in the Valerie Plame scandal should check this out, as it's a pretty darn good (and thought-provoking) adaptation of a dark time in our country's recent history.

An outrageous act that the perpetrators managed to get away with it, in fact this particular perpetrators got away with more than anyone in recent history. Scooter Libby, guilty as hell himself became the protective shield of the Vice President. We all know that, so how is it possible that nothing has been done about it? Joe Wilson and Valerie Plane are the attractive protagonists of this thriller that looks and feels like a work of fiction. They are played by the wonderful Sean Penn and Naomi Watts, although the hand held camera and the digital thing worked against them, She looks as if suffering from some kind of skin ailment. David Andrews is great as Scooter Libby. Horrid. The director, however, should have been the Costa Gavras of "Z" or "State Of Siege" Fair Game doesn't go deep enough. If you don't know about it, you'll be very confused and won't be as outraged as one should be. I followed the outraged as it played on the Cable News networks, in the papers and on line, that's why I wanted more from the film but I'm glad it was made and I hope it tickles the curiosity of the naturally indifferent to awaken a truly patriotic sense of disgust.

One of the most interesting, and funny, aspects of this film was watching Valerie (Naomi Watts) and Joe (Sean Penn) sit at their dinner table or in a restaurant with their friends as they spouted the carefully scripted emanations from the White House designed to deceive the American public. Joe and Valerie knew the truth, but could not say a word. Joe would just call them out, but could not explain. It was hilarious.

The rest of the film is not so hilarious, as we watch Bush and his regime cherry pick data and deliberately falsify information in their lust for war. The administration knew there were no WMD, but they went ahead anyway.

Then, when they got caught in their lies, they set out to destroy a family, and cause the deaths of Iraqi scientists in the process.

There is nothing new her to anyone that doesn't get their information from Fox. It is a story that has been told over and over in different forms, and the end is always the same. They wanted to go to war, and damn anyone who got in their way.

Penn and Watts were incredible.

Fair Game is supposedly the next up-and-coming JFK type of movie, where we get to take a hard look at controversy and conspiracy. As expected, the movie deals in some very complex jargon and can be difficult to follow. As we get further and further into the movie I began to accept the fact that I was not going to be entertained, and that I was going to learn something about how our government operates, which I did. This happened rather quickly, and I adjusted to the movie playing out more like a doucmentary with highly-skilled actors rather than something like Air Force One.

The 2 main characters become exposed and branded as traitors by their own US Government and find out what it is like to be all by themselves in the fight against a large impersonal entity. White House officials discredit Joe Wilson's (Sean Penn's) account of the government falsifying information to justify invading Iraq. The abuse of power discovered by these characters is pretty incredible, when you have a government that will say practically anything to protect its public image. Lots of drama and fact-finding ensues, and the movie is both compelling and infuriating at the same time. The dialogue is mature and smart, and we draw close into the lives of the married couple, who like diamonds, seem to be able to strengthen their marriage through the trials of pressure.

Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) and Joe Wilson (Sean Penn) are the married couple, Plame a CIA agent who's identity is exposed, and Wilson who wrote the controversial but truthful piece which lead to the government's destruction of their lives, or at least the attempt. The validity in Wilson's story is apparent by how much uproar and backlash is caused when the government goes public with their side of the story.

Those were the words of Valerie Plame's superior right before he fired her. It doesn't matter who you are or what you do. If you cross paths with the most powerful people in the world: you get broken in half. It's that simple. Fair Game is my kind of movie: real characters, real people, real events. This movie confirms everything I already knew or suspected, but this is powerful stuff. If you ever felt overwhelmed or helpless: try these guy's shoes for a week in that awful period between 2003 and 2005.

Hollywood is getting out of it's shell after the 2000-2008 period in which the Hawk's reintroduced a period of McCarthyism. Hollywood became a propaganda machine for Bush: 'Support the troops, don't you love America?' I still see the images of the speech at the Oscars Michael Moore gave: "Shame on you Mr. President". The room booed and cheered at the same time, but the front row with every A-list actor you can think of, sat quiet and didn't move. They said nothing. Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame did not stay quiet. It's hard to comprehend that these events didn't happen 50 years ago. They happened less than 10 years ago. The White House created a smokescreen that very few people could see through. Those who did were outnumbered and slaughtered. Thank God for the educational purposes of cinema.

The Green Zone, Body of Lies and such are movies which tried to point out the errors in foreign policies, but Fair Game says it out loud: they wanted a war and the would stop at nothing to get it. Destroy anything or anyone who gets in the way. Most members of that White House got a slap on the wrist and are now giving $100.000 lectures.

Doug Liman has made his best movie yet. He has now made my list of accomplished directors. It's topnotch on a technical level and at a dramatic level. Liman leaves out any information the viewer knows or should be able to piece together for themselves. The script got me from start to finish. So did the actors.

No, there not much wrong with this movie. That's why it pains me that it bombed at the box-office. These kinda movies should be celebrated for their courage. But no, movies like Inception get all the attention. And nobody cares over hundreds of thousands civilians died because of the Iraq-war.

This is an amazingly well put together movie. The screenplay is totally understandable. One of the best films about the process of going in to the Iraq War and the use of information at the time. I was superficially familiar with Plame's story but did not realize how vital her and her husband's work was in relation to the Iraq war.

Naomi Watts does a very good job. She doesn't overact but you can see her vulnerability and passion. She blends into the role so well that unlike Nicole Kidman you don't think of a movie star acting but you focus on the story. Virginia Madsen looks more like Valerie Plame but unfortunately is now too old. Sean Penn is a bit too unattractive for the role but his acting ability makes up for it.

The production is top notch with an authentic on location feel to it.

Valerie Plame's story has to be told in this movie form so everyone can learn about what happened to her. It is a great story about the life of a CIA operative and it's toll on family life. It also is a great story about how the most patriotic acts can be so difficult to carry out in the face of unjust opposition.

The movie really deserves some big award nominations.

This film sets out to accomplish two things--it is an expose of the Iraq War with regard to the intelligence gathered to justify it and it is a look at a couple under pressure, Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson, who get swept up in Iraq controversy. The first half follows Valerie Plame as she goes about her work as a CIA covert operative. She's very much a woman in her job in that she cares about the promises she makes to "assets" and she is dedicated to her country. She soon finds out that her country doesn't give a darn about her and she is dumped, fast and hard, when her name is revealed in the media. Friends at work don't want anything else to do with her; the guys tell her, forget the promises you made to scientists who lives depended on trusting you, you are history.

Of course, blustery Joe Wilson is about fighting back. It's his country, not Cheney's or Bush's, and he's going to fight for the integrity of his name. Good luck, Joe. When the White House is out to get you, consider yourself gotten. They'll use all their power--media, officials, etc.--to destroy you and your wife and children for speaking truth. After all, this is America.

Overall, I didn't think the movie succeeded as a thriller (in fact, I fell asleep during part of it), but viewing it as an opponent of the Iraq War, it I did get all riled up again. Especially by that speech by Bush when he informs us of that secret transaction between Iraq and Niger with the aluminum tubes. They knew full well that the intelligence was false, but used it anyway to declare war. We were manipulated, tricked, deceived. If they had not used false intelligence, then Bush would not have gotten support for war. The consequences of that deception affect us to this very day. That they can play innocent shields them from treason and war crimes.

Scooter Libby is played for the smarmy con man he is. His hunt for false intelligence was much more successful than the hunt for WMDs. Of course, commuting his sentence deprived of us a trial that could have produced war crimes evidence against Bush, Cheney and others. Yes, I'm still upset...big time. And I will be until I draw my last dying breath.

An interesting part of this movie lets us see Iraq during the bombing and shows us how Baghdad fell apart during the early part of the war. Leaflets were dropped to provoke the Iraquis against Saddam; little did they know that life under Bremer and the U.S. would not be much better. Those who survived have yet to recover and enjoy a stable life.

Told from Plame's and Wilson's point of view, the movie lacks the broad scope this topic requires. It whets your appetite and doesn't really fulfill it. If you miss it at the theater, you'll certainly enjoy it as a DVD.

See it in Netflix and you will not be disappointed.

A political film, a tale of great courage and determination, was well acted and fascinatingly directed. It is the true story of two honest decent Americans whose lives are crushed when under attack from the most powerful people in the world. Naomi Watts and Sean Penn give pitch perfect performances, which make the film that much more important & although It seemed like the ending was rushed as if the director had a deadline. also This film tells an important part of Bush administration's deceptions that led world into ashes. The overall moral theme of the film, "The power of disinformation is shaping the public rights into tragic and perverse ways..." My favorite dialog & screenplay of the movie by Sean Penn as Joe Wilson: "The responsibility of a country is not in the hands of a privileged few. We are strong, and we are free from tyranny as long as each one of us remembers his or her duty as a citizen. Whether it's to report a pothole at the top of your street or lies in a State of the Union address, speak out! Ask those questions. Demand that truth. Democracy is not a free ride, man. I'm here to tell you. But, this is where we live. And if we do our job, this is where our children will live. God bless America."

I like political thrillers. I like them a lot. But there's a big difference between seeing a movie that depicts events through which you lived and one that's basically history to you. All the President's Men, for example, was a great, great film, but I have a different perspective than someone who was my current age in 1973. Time changes that perspective. When we're closer to an event, our perspective is blurred, subjective, and nebulous. The importance we place on an event shortly after it occurs may well wane in the ensuing years – or, in some cases, grow stronger. When the movie version of All the President's Men came out, a turning point was reached: trusting the government was no longer the default position for mainstream America. Fair Game, based on the true story of the outing of an undercover CIA operative, is set less than a decade ago. Our innocence of government- as-our-protector is long gone; so, too, is our faith in the media to cover issues thoughtfully, to uncover true corruption. That's just how our perspective is now. In forty years, things may have swung the other way entirely.

Because many aspects of life are now so very polarized, we approach a movie like this much differently than its predecessors. Here are the facts: a war was unleashed based on faulty information. A man who had been sent to verify that information (and found it faulty), angered that his assessment was twisted, wrote an Op-Ed article explaining himself. It turned out that the man's wife was an undercover CIA agent and that she had been asked to recommend his mission to verify the information. In apparent retaliation for this act, certain powerful people revealed the real name and address of the covert agent. Had this issue been presented in 1973, our lonely eyes would have turned to the press to sort it out, as Woodward and Bernstein did with Watergate (through a lot of hard work). Those days are gone, and we are left to decide for ourselves what is true and what is not.

The movie certainly has a slant to it. Most viewers will have already decided for themselves whether that slant reflects reality or fantasy, as these events were not small scale and under the radar. My personal belief is that the movie is factual (to the degree at which it is trustworthy), and that itself depresses me. That's because, unlike All the President's Men, this story not only has no happy ending, it's an ongoing tale that, as it progresses, makes one feel worse by the second.

This is the kind of movie that Warren Beatty would have been in during the 1970s – it has a good Parallax View feel to it – and its star, Sean Penn, is no stranger to voicing his opinion on matters politic. If you find his view unsettling, then this movie has nothing to offer you. We know the ending (to date). We know the results. So how much we enjoy this movie depends wholly on how much we identify with the viewpoints of both Penn's character (former Ambassador Joe Wilson, sent to verify the information) and that of Naomi Watts (the outed agent). Are they themselves trustworthy? Do you sympathize with them, or do you feel they brought their own problems onto themselves? We know what the movie wants us to believe. What we wind up believing is probably going to differ from moviegoer to moviegoer.

The movie is prefaced by a short speech to the camera by the actual former agent, Valerie Plame, and concludes with her actual testimony to Congress on the matter. But this is not supposed to be a documentary, and I presume that some of the facts have been fudged to make things more cinematic. I can live with that. What does that leave us, then? Passion, compassion, the validity of truth, the arrogance of power, and other writ-large themes. And, it should be mentioned, two terrific, heart-felt performances by Penn and Watts, who as usual inhabit their roles, becoming less actors and more players in a drama that's beyond their comprehension.

As pure entertainment, Fair Game isn't at the top of the heap. It's not that it drags, it's that it's hanging its hat on events in progress, a moving target of a point. It never meanders, but its endgame is obvious and knowable. What really saves it, believe it or not, are two crucial scenes near the end, scenes that are powerful in their circumspection and their emotion. Watching those two particular scenes wasn't easy; both Penn and Watts have a way of grabbing you with their characters here and embracing you – not in an effort to get you on their side but simply to feel something, anything.

Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) was a covert operations officer at the CIA. In the run up to the Iraq war, she worked at the counter proliferation division gathering intelligence and developing sources. Her husband Joe Wilson (Sean Penn) is sent to Niger to investigate one particular claim. The president uses misinformation in his speech, and the country goes to war. Joe Wilson writes in the New York Times to dispute the report, and the White House targets the couple. Eventually they leak her identity and jeopardize her sources.

This is based on Valerie and Joe's account of the events. The best is that they didn't jazz up the CIA with dozens of flat screen TV. The story is a little too familiar, and there aren't many surprises at the end. Director Doug Liman should probably have added a scene at the end with those diner guests. The movie starts out strong, but fizzles a little towards the end. The biggest mistake is casting Sean Penn. It gives an obvious target for those who claim that this is a left wing bias movie. Penn is a brilliant actor. He's not needed here. A more adorable guy with a softer image would probably work better. I'm thinking Oliver Platt.

Hi, I have just finished watching this movie...in General I like it and I think it deserves your money specially it gives you important message for your life.

I like the movie..I liked it's end... if you watched everything in the true story on TV still you have chance to see more ...

the problem that it has silly mistakes when it comes to Arabic people and I am stating it below: - They moved to Iraq before the war from Airport...this was impossible as Iraq was under air siege ... so no way to go by Aircraft! - The Iraqi families are speaking Palestinian and Jordanian accent ...not Iraqi!! - They used Egyptian actor to play Iraqi scientist role..which makes us feel that they are fooling people. - In very silly mistake ...They use Jordanian signed cars in Iraq!! - Two Iraqi people speak together in English even they started the conversation in Arabic!!

War. Media. Spin. Economics.

We must be reminded that the media is a scathing dog, a venomous snarler that can be fighting for you or against you. The witnesses to this battle of info-rage get brainwashed, we get brainwashed, and become the court of public opinion.

While the movie does not address the reasons the war was started, it brilliantly displays how official bullshit can be thrown over us like a comforting shroud, and that shroud can stimulate our anger as well as justify our anger.

Brilliantly performed by Sean Penn and the beautiful Naomi Watts. I am humbled by their talent and dedication. I am humored by the desperate IMDb rants of those whom still think the war was a 'good' thing - I say to you ranters, wake up for your own good :)

Governments lie, don't forget it.

This is a well-crafted film but one from a anti-Bush point of view. If you opposed the 2nd Iraq War (as I did from the start), you will feel the frustration and outrage just like 2002. But that's good -- at least according to the filmmakers.

I saw the movie because I was curious about what really happened to Valerie Plame. The movie does a great job of laying it out. Naomi Watts and Sean Penn create real characters (from the real characters) and the bad guys are well acted too. The husband (Penn) who started the whole thing (unless you think Bush started the whole thing) is a tough guy to take sometimes but he does come through.

It's not really a nail-biter like Frost/Nixon but it raises good points and is worth the price of admission.

Fair Game follows in the tradition of All The President's Men as presenting a probing look into an important political issue in the form of a crackling thriller. Director Doug Liman uses his Bourne Identity/Mr & Mrs Smith skills to move the true story of exposure of Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts), the wife of US senator Joe Wilson (Sean Penn), as a CIA undercover agent by the Bush Administration at breakneck speed. Plame's research based on her contacts in Iraq had put serious doubts on the existence of WMD in Iraq, which was not in line with White House's view point. They thus considered her "fair game" for discrediting and public exposure. Fair Game is fascinating for all those interested in the mechanism of power and use/abuse of it; and is also a riveting piece of film making. In my view it's Liman's best film to date.