Introduction:
“Reagan” is a genre of biography-related movie, which gives details of the life of Ronald Reagan, the fortieth president of the United States of America. Starring Dennis Quaid as the president, the film directed by Sean McNamara, tries to capture the story of the man and of the president who led America in the Cold War. The Hollywood film is set to be released on August 30, 2024, to present a story that seems to be meaningful to the fans and opponents of Reagan.
Release Date:
“Reagan” premiered in theatres in the United States on the 30 of August 2024. The film is exclusive to the English language, but it has been dubbed in several languages; Spanish, French and German, to fit the international market.
Crew:
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Director | Sean McNamara |
| Producer | Mark Joseph |
| Story Writer | Howard Klausner |
| Screenplay | Howard Klausner |
| Editor | Clayton Woodhull |
Cast:
| Actor/Actress | Character Name |
|---|---|
| Dennis Quaid | Ronald Reagan |
| Penelope Ann Miller | Nancy Reagan |
| Scott Stapp | Frank Sinatra |
| Jon Voight | Viktor Petrovich |
| Mikhail Gorbachev | Mikhail Gorbachev |
| David Henrie | Ronald Reagan (young) |
| Dan Lauria | Tip O’ Neill |
| Trevor Donovan | John Barletta |
| Mena Suvari | Jane Wyman |
| Kevin Sorbo | Pastor |
| Kevin Dillon | Jack L. Warner |
| Pat Boone | Rev George K. Otis |
| C. Thomas Howell | Caspar Weinberger |
| Alexey Vorobyov | Andrei Novikov |
| Justin Chatwin | Jack Reagan |
| Robert Davi | Leonid Brezhnev |
| Amanda Righetti | Nelle Reagan |
| Mark Moses | William P. Clark Jr. |
| Xander Berkeley | George Shultz |
| Moriah Peters | Loyce Whiteman |
| Lesley-Anne Down | Margaret Thatcher |
| Nick Searcy | James Baker |
| Chris Massoglia | Pat Boone |
| Skip Schwink | Jimmy Carter |
| Will Wallace | Edwin Meese |
| Aleksander Krupa | Mikhail Gorbachev |
| Marshall Teague | Edouard Chevardnadze |
| Tommy Ragen | Child Reagan |
| Eloisa May Huggins | Patti Davis |
| Lauden Baker | John Hinckley Jr. |
| Dale Dickey | Mrs. Sykes |
Story:
It starts in 1981 just after an attempt on Reagan’s life and then goes back in time to examine this man and the events that made him who he was and a political icon for that matter. It highlights:
- Early Life: The influence of Reagan was his mother’s religious background and the experience he had as a lifeguard.
- Hollywood Career: His move from being an acclaimed actor to aspiring to be a president demonstrated how events that occurred in Hollywood influenced his politics.
- Presidency: It raises many important moments of his presidency including his talks with the leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev and the fight against communism.
The whole plot of the movie is told from the viewpoint of a former KGB agent, Viktor Petrovich (Jon Voight) who comments on the impact that Reagan had on the Soviet Union and the entire world.
Review:
”Reagan” by Sean McNamara is a biographical drama that tells about the life of the 40th president of the United States – Ronald Reagan from childhood to his presidency. Reagan is played by Dennis Quaid, his wife Nancy Reagan by Penelope Ann Miller and a former KGB agent Viktor Petrovich by Jon Voight who follows Reagan’s political journey. Still, the more formal sentiment of the movie deconstructs Reagan as a man with excess at the same time, reducing the 40th President to a caricature at times. Through motion graphics as well as live-action footage, critics have pointed out that the pacing of the biopic is quite good with events presented concisely.
The portrayal of Reagan by Dennis Quaid has received quite a lot of commendation, for out of all the actors in this movie, Quaid has single-handedly steered the whole movie. Jon Voight also gives a good account in his reprising of the role of Petitlich as the Russian opposed to Quaid’s Reagan. But it is still easy to see the actors in prosthetics in the movie especially when depicting the characters when they were young.
In all, ‘Reagan’ presents a slick and rather admiring biopic of the ex-President that gives Quaid a good shot at portraying the leader, and although it moves at a good clip that should satisfy fans of such movies and those who are interested in experiences of Reagan.
Positives:
- Strong Lead Performance: Another interesting character is played by Dennis Quaid, who plays Reagan rather well including his quirks and personality, which made the series interesting to watch.
- Historical Context: In this case, the plot of the film aims to give a historical narrative of the presidency of Ronald Reagan and the conflicts, especially of the Cold War period.
- Engaging Structure: Overall, the inclusion of a framing device, which focuses on the older Soviet official’s view, is rather a nice touch to the narrative and helps to extend an understanding of how Reagan was perceived by his opponents.
Negatives:
- Criticism of Hagiography: Most of the critics complain that the film gives a too rosy and too-simplistic picture of Reagan; and that the richness and multi-dimensional character of Reagan is lost in caricature.
- Lack of Depth: Despite this, the film has also been accused of not portraying the controversies of Reagan’s presidency including the Iran-Contra affair which has given a distorted view of historical accuracy.
- Pacing Issues: The movie has been criticized for being slow-moving at some moments while at other intervals it has been issues of pacing have been cited as a challenge in the film where some scenes are slowly and hardly progressing while at other times the scenes are quickly progressing.
Technical Aspects:
- Direction: Sean McNamara’s directing is as linear as Ronald Reagan’s presidency was – life is depicted without a lot of reference to the policies of the administration.
- Cinematography: The picture also has quite good work on the cinematographer’s side and manages to depict the 1960s properly while not offering something memorable in this aspect.
- Score: The music is intended to create feelings of both memories and nationalism, however, opinions of the viewers about the appropriateness of this harp have varied when it comes to complimenting the movie’s emotional intentions.
Performances:
It is also worth noting that Dennis Quaid did an excellent job portraying Ronald Reagan, and his gestures and movements were exemplary. The supporting cast, awesome cast indeed, with Penelope Ann Miller as Nancy Reagan and Jon Voight as Viktor Petrovich is good and they do have performed well but some of the characters in the movie are not developed enough to capture the interest of the spectators.
Moviepoptime Review:
Excellent movie, casting, script and of course the main subject himself Ronald Reagan. This movie makes every era of Reagan’s life what made the man great The only thing that is lacking is the boldness of Reagan to not afraid to stand up to our enemies but he was not afraid to pick up the phone and call them. Reagan was able to remind the Americans of all the freedom they had and what they had to show the world the best of America and that no one should ever be lucky enough to take it for granted.
Never did I see such a collective gesture of love and respect for the former president when he passed away. Carpenters, builders, janitors, business people, taxi drivers and everyday working people slowed down, stopped or CRIED when his funeral motorcade rolled past on the LA freeways; thousands of them lined the route to his grave. I suggest watching this movie and studying about an important personality of America’s history.
Conclusion:
“Reagan” can be considered as the movie that attempts to tell people about the life and work of Ronald Reagan and his presidency in general. Nevertheless, it has been hailed for good performances and involving dramatic concepts of the biography; however, it has been criticized for its sheer adulation of Reagan and several controversies that occurred during his presidency being understated.
In conclusion, it could be particularly interesting for viewers, who have a positive attitude towards Reagan, at the same time, people, who are searching for a complex analysis of this president’s administration, could be disappointed. In light of this, Reagan can best be described as a biopic that recreates the real-life figure of a president whose administration was not spared controversy and rancour.
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