‘REAGAN’ — RATED PG-13

Whatever one’s opinion of President Ronald Reagan, he is a consequential figure in America’s history. The Gipper is the hero for the Republicans in the same manner that Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy are his counterparts for the Democrats.

There are many fascinating things about the man who started his career in radio announcing Chicago Cubs games in Iowa before signing a studio contract in Hollywood to become an actor and later a labor leader as the head of the Screen Actors Guild.

The movie “Reagan,” framed in large part through the voice of a former KGB agent (Jon Voight) when the Soviets first noticed his anti-Communist activity in Hollywood, touches on many aspects of his life, including his small-town Illinois roots and family life.

Dennis Quaid, starring as the adult titular character, shines as the Reagan who evolves as a candidate for California governor primarily on the strength of a nationwide televised speech on behalf of the losing presidential campaign of Senator Barry Goldwater.

More than just a political journey, “Reagan” is very much a love story, one that blossoms when the actor first meets future wife Nancy Davis (Penelope Ann Miller), who seeks his help to dispel a mistaken identity of being a Communist sympathizer.

The film opens with the assassination attempt on the President’s life outside a hotel in Washington, D.C. As Reagan ends up in the hospital, he tells Nancy that he “forgot to duck” and asks the doctors who are about to operate on him if they are Republicans.

One problem for the film is that there is too much history to cram into a running time of two hours plus. As one fascinated by campaigns, I would have liked to have seen more coverage of his insurgent race for GOP nomination in 1976, and greater context on the match with Jimmy Carter in 1980.

However, with the KGB agent calling Reagan “The Crusader” because of his goal to beat Communism without firing a shot, we get to see some serious interactions with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (Olek Krupa) leading up to the fall of the Soviet Union.

A standout scene is President Reagan’s speech in West Berlin in 1987, when he famously said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” a phrase that been opposed by the State Department and the National Security Council. The Berlin Wall came down in 1990 and a year later the Soviet Union fell.

Forty years ago, President Reagan won re-election in a landslide of epic proportions, carrying 49 states with the largest share ever of electoral votes. Only one other president managed a sweep of the same number of states.

In today’s divided world, it’s hard to imagine anyone attaining that kind of victory. Speaking of our political divide, it’s interesting that according to Rotten Tomatoes, the audience approval is nearly universal while the disparity of the low-rating by critics surveyed is startling.

“Reagan” is an interesting portrait of a popular commander in chief, and those old enough to have experienced the Reagan era are perfectly capable of formulating their own independent opinions.

‘THE SUMMIT’ ON CBS

Picture this: you are trekking through the vast and unforgiving landscape of the New Zealand Alps, subjected to terrifying obstacles and cutthroat interactions at every turn. Can you picture it? You only need to watch the new CBS competition series coming soon.

Sixteen contestants embark on a journey through the alps in an attempt to reach the peak of a towering mountain in just 14 days in order to keep their share of the $1 million prize they are each carrying in their backpacks.

But not everyone will make it, as these strangers must work together to tackle the dangerous terrain, unforgiving Antarctic winds, heart-pounding challenges and gut-wrenching eliminations on their way to the peak.

Tracking them along this journey is the “Mountain’s Keeper” who will surprise the trekkers with brutal twists and force decisions that complicate an already grueling ascent.

Morals and relationships will be tested when they must decide what to do if sometime falls behind, because if the group fails to reach the summit in time, all the prize money will be lost.

In the premiere episode, a medical emergency occurs just hours into the trek and the climbers face a perilous obstacle crossing a ravine, resulting in fears to rise as the “Mountain’s Keeper,” who is tracking them along the way, forces the group to make their first brutal moral decision.

Things don’t get much better in the second episode. After an unexpected twist reverberates throughout the group, game plans shift as the contestants begin to tackle harder terrain.

While the trekkers are challenged with crossing an extremely rickety bridge, emotions surge as the “Mountain’s Keeper” arrives with a shocking choice for the trekkers to make, leaving one person’s fate hanging by a thread.

As you may imagine, challenges emerge with bad weather and the difficulty of a group adhering to the rules of “The Summit” which result in consequences.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.