| I think I've been scarred for life. Well, maybe not for life but for at least a year or so. Why's that, you ask?..... It's because this movie sorely disappointed me. It is a travesty when a film with such star power and potential fails to shine. I admit that I read a few reviews for Road to Perdition before I got a chance to see it myself, and I felt that most of the reviewers didn't know what they were talking about. These are often my feelings. Well, it turns out that I was right: They didn't know what they were talking about. But they all agreed on one thing: Road to Perdition is not an outstanding movie. However, nor is it a mediocre movie. It simply neglects to take advantage of opportunity. Period. What you have in Road to Perdition is a movie with startling potential. I'm afraid to say that Tom Hanks was miscast in his role as Michael Sullivan, a man working as a hitman for his adoptive father John Rooney (Paul Newman). I know the producers wanted an actor with whom the audience could empathize. Tom Hanks is about as ordinary a fellow as you can get in Hollywood. However, there are too many instances in the movie where Hanks just appears out of place. He is not an action star, by any means. He is a fine actor, but not an action star. There's just no grit about him. I think Road to Perdition would have been much more believable had Michael Sullivan been played by Nick Nolte or even Russell Crowe. In addition to the inappropriate casting, the first thirty minutes of the movie is way to jumpy, springing you from one scene to the next and leaving you to wish it would just slow down and develop more evenly. There is even a scene where Sullivan spares little time mourning his dead wife and youngest son before he hits the highway. Ordinary guy, huh? Nonetheless, Road to Perdition is still a decent movie with a very strong supporting cast, beautiful scenery and music, and a decent script. It will no doubt win Oscars because people love Tom Hanks, regardless of his performance. He's a good guy. But it's disheartening to think that this movie had the potential to be an A+ and one of the best movies to come along in a long time. |
