Reagan movie worth your time
Be inspired again by former president
This is one of the promotional photos for the Reagan movie via IMDb.com.
Former President Ronald Reagan was the last great American president.
He earns that title because of his character traits of courage, faith, hope, humility, grace, vision, leadership, moral clarity, and decisiveness.
He inspired Americans. He saw the nation as an economic juggernaut that stood for its long-standing values from its founding. Reagan persuaded Americans this was their destiny, they believed it, and they saw it unfold.
Reagan had greatness thrust upon him, and he stepped up for those moments on the domestic side, but especially the defeat of Communism and the Soviet Union.
The new Reagan movie deserves your time. It’s a wonderful biopic of the Cold War, that too frequently is relegated to an irrelevant aspect of the 20th century. Yet, we have two generations of Americans, Millennials and Gen Z, who have displayed an affection for Communism. Seriously.
The movie is a deep dive into Reagan’s life, with Dennis Quaid playing the main role. Tommy Ragen played the boyhood role and David Henrie the teen-aged Reagan.
As a Gen Xer, I was in middle and high school, and my first two years of college during Reagan’s presidency. I did not have the opportunity to vote for him. Reagan shaped my political philosophy of constitutional conservatism.
Reagan’s efforts against Communism, which is the thrust of this movie, would be a much better documentary, than a narrative movie. PBS has done one, lamenting the budget deficits of the 1980s, blaming the president when Congress has the power of the purse.
One cannot help but wonder how PBS would handle two wars on a credit card from 2001 to 2021, ObamaCare, which did not lower the costs of healthcare, and the reckless covid spending by Trump and Biden. Reagan also sought the line-item veto, which the Supreme Court rejected.
CNN also did a documentary on the 1980s, which addresses Reagan.
Quaid did a marvelous job of communicating the charm and mannerisms of a man who gained some fame in Hollywood before jumping into politics as California governor and the nation’s 40th president, with two landslides underscoring his greatness. Reagan became a political force in the 1960s, but nearly upset Gerald Ford in 1976 for the GOP nomination for president following the Watergate scandal.
The narrative for the Reagan movie is told through the eyes of aging Soviet spy Viktor Petrovich, who is played by Jon Voight. Young Soviet Andrei Novikov, played by Alexey Vorobyov, questions Petrovich about why he let the Soviet Union die. Petrovich had a role in watching people who the Soviets needed to pay attention to.
Reagan became a key player to watch in the U.S. because of his role in the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) dealing with Communists in Hollywood. With scenes that regularly go back to the two Soviets talking about Reagan, they weave through Reagan’s life:
His first marriage to Jane Wyman ended in divorce.
SAG drama over Communism.
Nancy Davis coming into his life.
The jump into politics in California and president.
Reagan being shot by John Hinckley Jr.
“Evil Empire” speech.
Talks with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.
Berlin speech of “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
The Berlin Wall falling less than a year after leaving office.
Reagan letting Americans know he has Ahlzheimer’s disease.
Penelope Ann Miller played an excellent Nancy Reagan.
Communism is an atheistic worldview that has left a trail of millions of dead bodies, anguish, torment, torture, and poverty from the Bolshevik Revolution to the present everywhere and every time it has been attempted.
One major criticism of the movie was no presence of Pope John Paul II, except for mention of his shooting and the role the Pope played with Reagan in challenging the Soviets. Director, writer, and producer Sean McNamara achieved this with news clips. Pope John Paul II had a much more prominent role in those events than this movie revealed. According to Reagan biographer Grove City College Professor Paul Kengor, Reagan called the Pope his “best friend” and his “close friend.”
Political events in Poland, the Pope’s home nation, with the Solidarity movement, drove those moves against Communism, according to Kengor. The screenplay for the movie is one of Kengor’s books about Reagan.
Reagan CIA Director William Casey also played a more prominent role in dealing with the Soviets and Casey was in one early scene.
Overall, the movie is a serious and unique way of telling this story, even though I believe a responsible and objective documentary on Reagan’s moves against Communism is a story that demands to be told. There are several news scenes used in the movie, including the ending credits with Reagan’s funeral and other scenes of his presidency and life.
This biopic would get an 88, a solid B+. Those who attend the Reagan movie will be inspired by genuine American leadership in the world when a president earned respect because of his vision, dignity, and character.
Finally, music from the 1980s emerges throughout the movie. Kudos to the producers for including the early instrumental section of “Every Moment” from this columnist’s favorite Christian band DeGarmo & Key.
