Sean Penn took a break from forcing his political views on us to make an awesome movie about, well, politics.

Is it ok to do things wrong in order to make things right? All The King’s Men attempts to make that case. The movie follows Jack Burden (Jude Law), a successful newspaper reporter, as he quits his job to become the new Louisiana Governor’s right-hand man. His boss, Governor Willie Stark (Sean Penn), is a maverick politician who tries to do what’s right for the poor people of 1940’s Louisiana by political reform and taxing the rich as well as bribery and blackmail. Jack narrates the story as he battles his own conscience and morality in order to support a bad man doing good things. Think of it as The Godfather with a southern accent, but without the killing, prostitutes, and gambling.

I really liked this film as a whole, but I disliked certain parts of it. Things like James Gandolfini’s southern accent, Mark Ruffalo’s too small of a part, and Jude Law’s portrayal of a southern news reporter when he is so English that he should have the flag of Great Britain tattooed on his forehead almost overshadows the great story. With that aside, great movie. It’s a remake of a 1949 movie of the same name that I refuse to watch. I’d hate to see the original and suddenly hate the newer version, as I did with the Manchurian Candidate.

Rent it and see a brilliant performance by Sean Penn and an okay performance from everyone else.