Killing Reagan (2016)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

hyped garbage

Fresh and Exciting

Best movie of this year hands down!

My summary line would have been "I forgot to duck" by the President to his wife at the hospital, but his opening remark to a joint session of Congress upon his return seemed more appropriate. The man had a great sense of humor, as evidenced also by the way he summed up his Alzheimer's diagnosis. That wasn't in the film, but reportedly he stated that 'he'll get to meet new people every day'. For students of history, and even for those who aren't, this presentation of "Killing Reagan" was as best as I can tell, a faithful rendering of the events before, during and after the failed assassination attempt by the troubled John Hinckley Jr. (Kyle S. More). Some viewers will undoubtedly be confused by the opening of the story when it appears that Hinckley was stalking President Jimmy Carter. That scene reinforces the idea that Hinckley was not acting out a politically or ideologically motivated assassination attempt, and as the story goes on to reveal, he was fully obsessed with the idea of impressing actress Jodie Foster to notice and acknowledge him as a worthy suitor. The one fact to come out of this documentary-like program that I must have missed during the news coverage at the time was the information about the bullet that injured the President. It actually ricocheted off the Presidential limousine that he was about to enter for his next stop. I'm puzzled about that now and wonder how I missed that information at the time. The other notable item about this presentation was the way it humanized the First Lady. Accounts of the era depicted Nancy Reagan as almost a Svengali type of character who shielded her husband from bad news and detractors within his circle. The business about her reliance on astrology is given appropriate consideration without making her seem extreme in her beliefs.Over all, I thought this was a well done treatment of the Reagan/Hinckley story, based on the Bill O'Reilly book as part of his 'Killing' series. There were critics of the book who thought O'Reilly didn't play fair with Reagan's Alzheimer period, but that didn't seem to come into play here. For anyone who wasn't around or wasn't paying attention in 1981, this is about the best one can hope for in describing the events as they occurred. Without actually being there, one gets a pretty good bird's eye look at the behind the scenes care given President Reagan and the way his Cabinet responded to what could have been another black day in the history of the country.

Had I known Ridley Scott and Rod Lurie were involved with Killing Reagan I would have watched the movie months ago. But the real surprise was Tim Matheson and Cynthia Nixon's superb performances and endearing portrayal of the first couple. From the director of The Contender, another one of my favorite movies, Killing Reagan is one of the best docudramas ever.

Killing Reagan is a TV movie based on the book written by FOX analyst Bill O' Reilly that tells the story of the late President Ronald Reagan particularly his attempted assassination by John Hinckley Jr.after delivering a speech at the Washington Hilton Hotel on March 30,1981. Tim Matheson stars as President Reagan,Cynthia Nixon as the President's wife Nancy,Kyle S.More as Hinkley, together with Joe Chrest,Joel Murray and Michael H. Cole.The screenplay tells a parallel story of President Reagan and Hinkley from 1980 when the former is busy campaigning for the 1980 US Presidential elections against incumbent President Jimmy Carter and the latter watching President Carter from afar and later being caught in the airport for illegal possession of several firearms. Then the development of the story continues when Reagan gets elected as US President and Hinkley starts to show signs of mental impairment as he develops a fascination for child actress Jodie Foster.It concludes on that fateful day on March 1981 when Hinkley attempts on killing President Reagan fails and gets arrested in the process.Director Rod Lurie does a great job of recreating the events despite the fact that the story told does not add anything to the story already known by many Americans.It was nice to see great performances from Matheson and Nixon as the President and Nancy respectively.There was a lot of great dramatic and humorous scenes between them on their road to the White House as well as when the failed assassination attempt took place in spite of this somewhat rote depiction of the story.

Best movie on Bill O's of all the movies from the Killing series. Great acting by Tim Matheson who actually acted like the former president. Cynthia Nixon is a believable Nancy. The breake down to the Reagan attempted assassination is detailed, believable and accurate. The minor actors where believable as Haig, Meese, etc. The situation room, the panic, the decision unfolds like a believable re-enactment. The viewer see the faults, complexities, and strengthens of Reagan and the administration from the start to later on during the administration. Killing Reagan movie is directed and acted like a history documentary. Made in the third person where the viewer is watching as the events unfold. Ended strong with real footage of Reagan. I give Killing Reagan 9 out of 10 stars.