Road to Perdition Doesn't Live Up To
Its Hype
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by Nick Leone, Guest Critic
(August 1, 2002) I went to see Road to Perdition with
high hopes and high expectations. Although I rarely
agree with the critics, the praise for this film seemed
incontestable. So I drove over to New Roc City, sat
with the crowd and eagerly waited for the film to start
rolling. Two hours later, when the lights came up, I
sat struggling to build my own opinion.
First I thought, “Yeah I liked it!” After
20 minutes, though, I recalled all the flaws and declared
myself not a fan of Road to Perdition.
Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty)
clearly needed more time in the editing room with this
film.
The plot is simple: the “nice-guy gangster”
(played by Tom Hanks) comes home to find his wife and
one child brutally murdered. Realizing that the murderer
is the son of his long-time friend and gangster associate
(played by Paul Newman, who is not given enough time
to shine), Hanks and his remaining son flee to Chicago.
The movie continues at a relatively slow pace but ends
abruptly with what is meant to be an unexpected ending.
My biggest complaint about the film: there are too
few developed characters. Some films get away with a
small cast of characters (for example, The Big Kahuna)
but this one simply did not. Besides Hanks, his son,
and the assassin played by Jude Law, the rest are mere
sketches. I was left angry at how much potential was
left unexplored
I don’t mean to discourage someone from seeing
the film, but this movie could stand some serious improvement.
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Nick Leone is a 17-year-old rising
senior at Mamaroneck High School. Aside from movies,
he's enthusiastic about guitar, tennis, soccer and reading.
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