aelord

I saw this dvd earlier this week and thought it was excellent.

The movie has very mixed reviews, disliked by those who prefer action and films of max 2hrs duration, and liked by fans of psychological thrillers, good acting and great camerawork.

The dvd is a very good transfer with full justice done to the wonderful cinematography and beautiful colours which help make this 3 hours of enthralling viewing for me. The sound is a bit muffled on the voices if you are not using surround sound (Hey I only got my projector 10 days ago give me a chance! An Infocus lp340 by the way - any others out there?)

The film has supense and intrigue made real by the outstanding performance of Crowe, backed by Al Pacino. Crowe is a revelation to me in this film having only seen him in the dissappointing Gladiator previously (Ridley - a blot on your copy-book, but not your bank balance!). I had him written off as an action hero actor, but no, his repertoire is far beyond such a narrow field.

A must-own dvd in my estimation.



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supratentorial.com

connie_s

I know I'll probably get into some trouble for saying this...
As much as I loved American Beauty, and as much as I love Kevin Spacey, if it had been my decision, I would have given the Academy Award to Russell Crowe. I think his role required a greater stretch, not only the physical, but the emotional.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it, I went in thinking that it would put me to sleep, but came out very impressed
one for the collection

Supermallet

I love psychological thrillers, and did appreciate the camera work in this film, but I really didn't like it. I didn't mind the length, I minded the fact that the characters kept saying the same thing the whole way through. Crowe's character's deal was: I have to get this info out, but also must protect my family, oh when, when will I see my children again? And Pacino's deal was: This is news, and we need it to be released. Those two sentences boil down the whole movie. Again, while I loved the acting and camera work, it just kept belaboring the point. By the end I didn't even care what happened. I wouldn't ever watch it again.

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"Sometimes I dream I'm in a musical...because in a musical nothing dreadful ever happens."

Kim Deal

One of 99's best films

Gonnosuke

Michael Mann is God...
...and Russell Crowe is Jesus.

-Gonnosuke

BigStinky

Didn't see this movie for a long time because the premise sounded sooo bland - lawyers and big tobacco companies. I also thought it would be preachy. But I'm very glad I finally saw it. Thought it was a terrific movie.

quote:<HR>Suprmallet wrote: ...I really didn't like it. I didn't mind the length, I minded the fact that the characters kept saying the same thing the whole way through.<HR>

To me, that's a problem with the length of the movie. I did think things got repetitious towards the end. So far, all the Michael Mann films I've seen have been about 30+ mins. too long -- mho (Heat, Last of the Mohicans, The Keep, Thief)
I ended up watching this movie in 2 parts and liked the story and performances enough to ignore the pacing problem.

Matt Parks

I think the movie would have been improved by casting someone other than Pacino in the producer role.

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What you derive from a film depends very much on what you bring to it. It allows you to focus emotionally on things you already know. It brings things to a point.

--Andrew Sarris

BigStinky

quote:<HR>Matt Parks wrote:I think the movie would have been improved by casting someone other than Pacino in the producer role.<HR>

? I thought Pacino restrained himself this time - not the over-the-top performance he's resorted to of late -- a good performance, i thought.