Movie Review: Reagan

This past weekend saw the most anticipated release of the biopic of the 40th President of the United States. The movie tells the stories of Reagan’s humble beginnings from the point of view of a retired KGB agent Victor Petrovich (played by Jon Voight). He shares with a young member of the Kremlin the answer to why the Soviet Union collapsed. He shared that it was because of a man whom the Kremlin nicknamed The Crusader. It was Ronald Reagan.

The movie covers the life of Ronald Reagan (portrayed by Dennis Quaid) as told by the agent from his beginnings in Illinois to leading America during the 1980s as President of the United States. It also tied in his time as President of the Screen Actors Guild and Governor of California. Elements of the movie are based on Paul Kengor’s 2006 political science novel “The Crusader”.

What Makes This Movie Great?

Dennis Quaid’s portrayal of the Gipper was extraordinary. He got his manners, persona, and even delivery to a science. He is barely recognizable in this role. Quaid is no stranger to portraying famous people in history. Some of his previous historical portrayals include Jerry Lee Lewis (Great Balls of Fire), Sam Houston (The Alamo 2004), and Ben Schwartzwalder (The Express) to name a few. These past roles would boost his pedigree in this latest flick.

Overall, the cast of the movie brought an Oscar-worthy performance. The most worthy is that of Quaid and Penelope Ann Miller who portrays Nancy Davis-Reagan. Miller also captured the poignant persona as the rock of the Gipper’s life through the good, bad, and challenging times of his acting and political careers even to the end of his life.

The movie was true to the character of Reagan and was spot-on with his life. It even displayed his faith with great admiration. One scene that stands out is when he is eager to be baptized despite missing the required age by a year. Now, mind the reader of this review, Reagan was not Catholic. Rather, he was Presbyterian. Yet, through much of his political career, he surrounded himself with Catholics and even had a close friendship with one extraordinary Catholic from the Vatican, St. John Paul the Great.

The movie scored a nine out of ten (forget what Rotten Tomatoes has to say or those who despised Reagan because of his anti-Communist agenda). It captures the true sense of Reagan, his determination to defeat the Soviet Union with his peace through strength strategy, and his deep faith. One could wonder what could’ve been if he had become Catholic at some point in his life (wishful thinking).