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Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Noah Emmerich, Bruce McGill, Michael Kelly ... see more see more... , Ty Burrell , David Andrews , Sam Shepard , Tim Griffin , Jessica Hecht , Khaled Nabawy , Liraz Charchi , Ashley Gerasimovich , Quinn Broggy , Tom McCarthy , Norbert Leo Butz , Rebecca Rigg , Brooke Smith , Kristoffer Ryan Winters , Anand Tiwari , Mohamed Abdel Fattah , Rashmi Rao , Sunil Malhotra , Jenny Maguire , David Warshofsky , Geoffrey Cantor , Adam Le Fevre , Brian McCormack , James Rutledge , Tricia Munford , Michael Goodwin , Nasser , Polly Holliday , Chet Grissom , Sonya Davison , Vanessa Chong , Stephanie Chai , Nicholas Sadler , Iris Bahr , Ghazil , Louis Ozawa Changchien , Remy Auberjonois , Sean Mahon , David Denman , Kevin Makely , Mousa Al Satari , Maysa Abdel Sattar , Rafat Basel , Judith Resnick , Ben Mac Brown , Satya Bhabha , Nabil Koni , Mohammad Al Sawalga , David Iklu , Deidre Goodwin , Donna Placido , James Joseph O'Neil , Danni Lang , Jane Lee , James Moy , Judy Maier , Kola Ogundrian , Byron Utley , Anastasia Barzee , Sanousi Sesay

The Bourne Identity director Doug Liman teams with screenwriters Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth to streamline Joseph Wilson's and Valerie Plame's books detailing the explosive outing of un... read more read more...dercover CIA agent Plame into a tense docudrama thriller starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. At the time her cover was blown by the George W. Bush administration, Plame (Watts) was combing Iraq for evidence of weapons of mass destruction as part of the CIA's Counter-Proliferation Division. Her husband, American diplomat Joe Wilson was attempting to verify a claim that the Iraqis had recently purchased enriched uranium from Niger when the White House began beating the war drums before any solid evidence had been gathered. When Joe penned an editorial in The New York Times decrying the hasty call to war, a prolific Washington, D.C. journalist took the opportunity to reveal Plame's identity as a CIA operative, an act that not only put her career in jeopardy, but also left her various contacts overseas in a precarious position. Years later, a jobless and publicly disgraced Plame wages a vicious fight to clear her name, set the record straight, and keep her family from falling apart. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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64% liked it

26,582 ratings

Critics

80% liked it

165 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 46 min.

Directed by: Doug Liman

Release Date: November 5, 2010

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DVD Release Date: March 29, 2011

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Flixster Reviews (2,023)

  • fb701560354
    January 9, 2012
    fb701560354
    A fantastic political thriller type film that features great performances from Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, but it moves a little too slowly in parts, and gives no real depth to the characters. This film is brimming with anger, which is compelling, and the performances are brillia... read morent which is what drives the film. Overall, Fair Game is an above average political thriller/biopic that deserved more attention.
  • fb1038944442
    January 5, 2012
    fb1038944442
    Fair Game is a well produced op ed page, as if written by the film's protagonist, disgruntled diplomat Joe Wilson (Sean Penn). Director Liman has made the flick diverting enough, with a great cast. However, it treats it's protagonists with kid gloves,and doesn't delve into the... read moreir personal lives as deeply as it should. The most interesting aspects of the story are submerged in favour of a strident condemnation and expose of the Bush White house (certainly a worthy goal, but not the most worthy film material).

    WIlson is an ex diplomat who is assiged by his CIA spy wife (Naomi Watts, solid as usual) to investigate whether Saddam has ordered uranium in Africa for his supposed WMDs. When the verdict is negative, Wilson is shocked when Bush makes the discredited allegation on national TV, launching the war in Iraq. He writes an Op Ed piece in the NY Times about it and then both he and his wife are discredited, but her career at the CIA is destroyed.

    The movie avoids going into very much emotional detail about the strains on the Wilsons' marriage, and any moral qualms that Wilson may have about what his self-righteous actions to hurt his family. That's the movie I would have liked to see. Still, it's got plenty going for it, and it's one of the more watchable Iraq films, all of which have been huge box office flops except Hurt Locker. Why is that?
  • thmtsang
    August 20, 2011
    thmtsang
    Based on true story. It's a political drama about a CIA agent who is outer after investigating weapons of mass destruction in Iraq after 9/11. Slow moving. Requires a lot of thought.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    June 29, 2011
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "Wife. Mother. Spy."

    CIA operative Valerie Plame discovers her identity is allegedly leaked by the government as payback for an op-ed article her husband wrote criticizing the Bush administration.

    REVIEW
    ... read moret>
    "Fair Game" is a taut, no-nonsense account of the outing of a CIA agent in the wake of 9/11 after she led an investigation that found no evidence of a weapons program in Iraq despite the White House's use of that threat as the basis for its invasion.

    Naomi Watts plays Plame and Sean Penn plays Joe Wilson, Plame's husband and a former ambassador who came forward in the media about the bullying and corruption his family was being exposed to. Both give fierce, committed performances; in their hands, the film is as much a portrait of a marriage under stress as it is a rally cry against government irresponsibility and abuse.

    "Fair Game" is not fair at all. It's at times almost ridiculously one sided, falling into hero worship of Plame and Wilson and demonizing the Bush administration (and particularly Scooter Libby and Karl Rove) to the point of caricature. But as always with "one against the government" stories, practically all we've heard about this controversy both as it played out at the time and since is what the government and the media have wanted us to hear, so it's refreshing to be one-sided in the opposite direction for a couple of hours.
  • Crashinkov
    May 20, 2011
    Crashinkov
    I want it come to the end fast as possible, it was so boring, they said it's a true events, I say there is no need to make a movie out of it
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    May 9, 2011
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Wife. Mother. Spy.

    This movie which is very political and intelligent didn't really impress me that much. It is very well made thus it bored me and didn't really move me in any way. Naomi Watts gives a a spellbinding performance as well as Sean Penn.

    Valerie Plame is employed b... read morey the Central Intelligence Agency, a fact known outside the agency to no one except her husband and parents. She is an agent involved in a number of sensitive and sometimes dangerous covert operations overseas.

    Her husband, Joseph C. Wilson, is a diplomat who most recently has served as a U.S. ambassador to Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe. Due to his extensive background, Wilson is approached by Plame's CIA colleagues to travel to Niger and glean information as to whether yellowcake uranium is being procured by Iraq for use in the construction of nuclear weasons. Wilson determines to his own satisfaction that it is not.

    After military action is taken by George W. Bush, who justifies it in a 2003 State of the Union address by alluding to the uranium's use in building weapons of mass destruction, Wilson submits an op-ed piece to the New York Times claiming these reports to be categorically untrue.

    Plame's status as a CIA agent is subsequently revealed in the media, the leak possibly coming from White House officials including the Vice President's chief of staff and national security adviser, Scooter Libby, in part to discredit her husband's allegation that the Bush administration had manipulated intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq. As a result, Plame is instantly dismissed from the agency, leaving several of her delicate operations in limbo and creating a rift in her marriage.

    Plame leaves her husband, further angered by his granting of television and print interviews, which expose them both to public condemnation and death threats. Wilson ultimately persuades her, however, that there is no other way to fight a power as great as that of the White House for citizens like them. Plame returns to him and testifies before a Congressional committee, while Libby is convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice and given a 30-month prison sentence, although President Bush commutes the jail time on Libby's behalf.
  • deano
    April 27, 2011
    deano
    Director Doug Liman firmly tackles real-world spies and controversial recent history. In the vein of 1970s conspiracy potboilers, this persuasively authentic drama may seem to be a round-about assault upon the "weapons of mass destruction" mess, if you don't recall what happened ... read moreto lead character, Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) in real life. As Fair Game depicts, the CIA agent was outed by a newspaper, seemingly in retaliation against the criticism her husband Joe Wilson (Sean Penn) leveled at the Bush administration. The real protagonists of Liman's frank procedural were heavily involved in its formation, but most bias is doused beneath cold facts. While well earned, the swing from the political, to the personal, saps some of the sting.
    However, the second half isn't as adroit as its info-heavy precursor. Working together for the third time, Watts and Penn share a nuanced rapport which helps us stay the course when the John-Henry Butterworth's back-off from dissecting the extremely different reactions of a besieged wife and husband.
  • fb100000145236770
    April 24, 2011
    fb100000145236770
    I loaned this to my Dad and he refused to watch it once he read what it was about and that it starred Sean Penn. Now, I'm not a bleeding heart liberal(no matter what my friend Billy says), but I definitely sway more liberal than conservative. This moving leans way more left tha... read moren right, but the story is geared that way. Whether or not it's all accurate to what really happened is up for debate, but the movie is engaging enough to make you not care. Penn and Watts give great performances in a film that could have been very boring, and parts of it are, but they keep you interested to the end. As far as political thrillers go, this is top notch. Not for everyone, but watch it with an open mind and you will probably get caught up in the acting. No matter your political affiliation, you will probably be entertained if you want an intelligent thriller that asks tough questions that don't always present easy answers.
  • fernandorafael
    April 12, 2011
    fernandorafael
    Engrossing political thriller in the vein of State of Play and Syriana, with an impressive cast led by the always excellent Naomi Watts and legendary actor Sean Penn. Interesting account of the post-9/11 period leading to the Iraq war explores issues of paranoia, misinformation a... read morend national security. Riveting performances and a brisk pace allowed me to enjoy this film, even though I didn't fully understand all the legal and governmental mumbo-jumbo.
  • bbcfloridabound
    April 7, 2011
    bbcfloridabound
    I'm not a big fan of Sean Penn and this movie gives me even more reason to dislike him and his acting. He plays a complete dick who pretty much throws his wife under the bus. The director Doug Liman goes out of his way to discredit the bush administration. My question will he do ... read morethe same to the present warlord Obama. Still my comments aside it might be enjoyed by some. 3 stars

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Critic Reviews

Peter Howell
April 4, 2011
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

This isn't a message movie, per se, but a strong point of view comes through regardless: In the battle of principles vs. politics, politics always win. Full Review

Tom Long
November 19, 2010
Tom Long, Detroit News

Fair Game" is such a brutal and personal testimony to the consequences of dirty politics that it often feels too ugly to be true. Unfortunately, it is. Full Review

Roger Moore
November 17, 2010
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

For every spycraft scene, every illustration of the deadly blowback from the leak that Liman dramatizes, the movie has half a dozen scenes of a delicately balanced home life turned on its head by a go... Full Review

Peter Rainer
November 12, 2010
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

Naomi Watts settles for semi-inscrutability while Penn, engaging as he is, is encouraged, particularly toward the end, to deliver his performance from the lectern. Full Review

J. R. Jones
November 12, 2010
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

You'd have to go back to All the President's Men for a better example of fresh American political scandal being turned into slam-bang, star-powered drama. Full Review

Claudia Puig
November 11, 2010
Claudia Puig, USA Today

Liman skillfully intercuts television news footage of the president and administration officials with a skilled cast of actors. Full Review

Peter Travers
November 11, 2010
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Naomi Watts and Sean Penn bring ferocity and feeling to their roles, turning a potent political thriller into a stirring, relatable human drama. Full Review

Liam Lacey
November 5, 2010
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

It starts with thriller clichés and ends in sanctimonious preaching, but in between there are a couple of true things: a portrait of a marriage under stress, and a depiction of the arrogance of power ... Full Review

A.O. Scott
November 5, 2010
A.O. Scott, New York Times

Things worked out between Joe and Valerie, and for their real-life models, who are now the subjects of a terrifically entertaining movie. But that does not mean that justice was done, or that truth pr... Full Review

Stephen Whitty
November 5, 2010
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

There's a radical lesson in this story about the ways of permanent government and protect-their-own professionals ... But that's one that this film is too polite, safe and self-satisfied to ever bring... Full Review

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    • Joe Wilson: If I yell louder, does that make what I'm saying right!?
    • 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.
    • Dr. Zahraa: How do you do it? Lie to someone to their face? Huh?
    • Valerie Plame Wilson: You have to know, know why you're lying... And never forget the truth.
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Fair Game Trivia

  • Name the James Cagney Film these lines are taken from Soapy: Hey! Call a fair game or I'll slap you right in the kisser! Rocky Sullivan: You'll slap me? You slap me in a dream, you better wake up and apologize.   Answer »
  • Correction to a correction. The game played in Bend it Like Beckham, is indeed FOOTBALL and not soccer, which is the USA name for the game.As the movie is British, with British actors and set in Britain, it is fair to say the game in the movie IS football  Answer »
  • What was the only movie that Cindy Crawford ever starred in?  Answer »
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