“After I watched “All the King’s Men” and wrote my review I read some other reviews. For a minute I thought I had watched a totally different movie. Almost universally “All the King’s Men” was panned by the critics. The movie was not just panned but picked to pieces with critics throughout the United States finding fault with everything about the movie. The movie was not that bad. I thought the script was uneven. The move from an unheard-of Willie Stark to Willie Stark the governor that some people want to impeach was quick. Too quick. But it was not a bad version of the movie and in parts was excellent. . . . .
. . . “All the King’s Men” is based on Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer prizewinning novel. It is based loosely on the story of Huey Long, once governor of Louisiana. The movie deals with the rise to power of Willie Stark (Sean Penn) who becomes corrupted with power and money. The movie deals with the efforts to bring Stark down by the corrupt politicians of Louisiana. The 2006 version of “All the King’s Men” is told from the view of Jack Burden (Jude Law), a former newspaper reporter who works for Stark.
