Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Absolutely Fantastic

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

As we are about to attack another country under the guise of protecting human rights, this HBO movie hits the spot. Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, two fake progressives, shape the world according to their interests and political advantages. Tony Blair, as portrayed in this flick, is a naive, almost comical in his ineptitude, character. After all the unfulfilled promises and outright lies it is not surprising how unpopular he became in Great Britain. Blindly following both American presidents, but all this time building his own legacy. And he built it all right. When he left the office his approval rating was embarrassingly low. After the horrendous war campaign waged on Serbia in 1999 ( based on intentionally inflated numbers of victims, that were never found), and attack on Iraq( based on non-existing WMD), Mr. Blair is lucky that he didn't end up on trial for war crimes himself. God help us all with leaders like these people.

The main point of interest in "The Special Relationship" is in my opinion the changing status throughout the film of the strong friendship between Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. Ahead of his election Blair is portrayed as a fan of the US President, appreciating Clinton's advice and the fact that Bill has taken a great interest in his career. At the beginning they both appear to share a genuine mutual friendship whereas, as both their careers progress, the relationship does deeply change. The Special Relationship is a good dramatization of the America/Great Britain relationships during those very important years. However I had the impression that the film, though well acted and directed, would be more suitable for the TV rather than for the big screen. Overall it's about an insightful representation of UK/US relations, depicted through the exploration of a bromance and, more than everything, a glimpse of the real Tony Blair. Not unforgettable but a quality story for sure.

What can the average Briton say about Tony Blair ? Lots of things and none of them complimentary . A few months ago former Labour party leader Michael Foot died so we got the retrospective memoriam and one can't help feeling nostalgic for the very democratic society we had in Britain circa 1983 . You might not have agreed with Foot or Prime Minister Magaret Thatcher but you couldn't deny that both were driven by principles . Indeed included amongst the reportage of Michael Foot we saw him leading a march for the unemployed . Now hands up anyone who has ever seen any Senior figure from the Labour Party in the last twenty years even make the token gesture of being on the side of the proles ? Yeah I thought not . Blair was Prime Minister through default . Never one to miss the opportunity for a photo call or a sound bite he was very lucky to become party leader due to the death of John Smith , though he wasn't so lucky to become Prime Minister . Politics in Britain is very cyclical in that a government spends many years in power with the opposition getting voted in simply because they're not government party From the outset THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP paints Tony Blair in a subtle way . He comes across as some type of outsider who wants to be the most popular person in the room but doesn't know how to go about . Realists will state with more than a little cynicism that if that's the case Blair is in he wrong game , but to give Blair is due he had a damned good try . The film starts in 1992 where on a trip to Washington Blair is introduced to the American Democratic spin machine and is told in detail what voter demographic to target , Tellingly he's also told that crime weighs heavily in elections . No one honestly thought that during his tenure as shadow home secretary Blair thought up his sound bite catchphrase of " tough on crime - tough on the causes of crime " on his own and it's here it's revealed as being the invention of American spin doctors . Shows you how bad a politician he is if he has to travel over 3,000 miles to steal a sound bite off someone else Whilst never hitting upon out and out satire the subtle , somewhat cynical nature of THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP entirely rings true . Not only is Tony Blair wanting to be best friends with the USA he also wants to be best friends with everyone in Europe in general and the French in particular . He assures French President Jacques Chirac that " I've always been a European and will always remain a European " . Jump forward to May 1997 and Blair is taking congratulations from Chirac over the phone only for the call to be cancelled when President Clinton calls . What makes the scene so amusing is that Blair is crestfallen when he realises Clinton has him on hold . I'll say one thing about Blair and that is he's very forgiving . Most people would have held a grudge at this display of bad manners . That said however very few people spend their entire lives trying to be best friends with the most powerful man on the planet . What the film is very good at it is comparing the contrast between Blair and Clinton . Blair comes across as a rather weak personality but a brilliant politician where as Clinton comes across as a weak politician but having a forceful personality compensating for his character and political flaws What the film does rather badly - and it's a pretty big fault - is the motivation of the two leaders over Kosovo . Blair and Clinton had a difference of opinion over the conflict with the American President wanting to limit the war to air strikes while the British Prime Minister wanted to send a NATO ground force in to the province from the outset . But is this actually true ? If so why'd Blair suddenly turn in to a real life Russell Crowe character ? Were his motives genuine or was he just wanting to impress his best friend President Clinton . We've all seen the real life Tony Blair give Churchillian speeches about upholding international law and human rights but was he really being so principled ? One hopes when we get THE SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP 2 - BUSH AND BLAIR we get to see much more behind closed door scenes honestly explaining why Blair seemed to hang on to Bush's coat tails so tightly The cast as can be expected are very good . One can't help thinking what Michael Sheen would be like playing a fictional character . Imagine if Steven Moffat cast him as The Doctor in DOCTOR WHO . Would he be so good at playing someone from scratch ? He is certainly nothing less than brilliant playing diverse real life characters such as Kenneth Williams , David Frost and Brian Clough and it'd be very very uncharitable to state he seems to have played Tony Blair more often than Tony Blair did . Denis Quaid is an revelation as Bill Clinton and who can understand why Clinton got away with so much during his tenure of President by sheer force of personality alone . It's a very good on form cast who rise above the sometimes underwritten motives of their characters

British actor Michael Sheen portrays real-life figures with an eerie degree of precision. In 2008 he took on the tricky part of down-and-out journo David Frost in Frost/Nixon and absolutely nailed it. Then last year he delivered a remarkable performance as hubristic English soccer coach Brian Clough in the lesser seen drama The Damned United. Now in his the third time depicting the former U.K. PM (first in telemovie The Deal, then in the Helen Mirren-starring The Queen) he mimics Blair's mannerisms, vocal tones and overall personality so perfectly that Blair himself couldn't play the role as well.As the title would suggest though, this drama follows a relationship, which requires a second party. Step in Dennis Quaid as Bill Clinton. He doesn't convince on the same level as Sheen – Clinton's highly distinguishable accent evades Quaid to begin with – but it's not long before the seasoned actor gets in a groove and solidly embodies the beguiling American. Helen McCrory and Hope Davis don't have any difficulty managing their supporting characters, the former as Cherie Blair and the latter as Hillary Clinton. Davis especially is pitch perfect as the intriguing and somewhat imperious U.S. first lady.Although, predictably, the movie lives and dies by its performances, the screenplay is clever enough to display these people in events that will allow us to connect with them. In the opening act we see how these two world leaders – Clinton the suavely aggressive big brother, Blair the amenable and awestruck little brother – became friends, then we move on to how they dealt with this 'special relationship' during good times and bad. It's a tremendous friendship to witness, how they and their wives react to certain situations, the Lewinsky humiliation of particular note, indicates what we have probably suspected all along: they are, despite their global status and positions of power, human after all.An insightful drama that invites you into the lives of some very fascinating people.4 out of 5 (1 - Rubbish, 2 - Ordinary, 3 - Good, 4 - Excellent, 5 - Classic)