Just perfect...

Good start, but then it gets ruined

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

When I read Msroz's review I thought, 'Yep, that's it all right...' While watching this I was really trying to figure out what was wrong with it. The technical aspects and cinematography were excellent and the performances themselves were quite good, especially Kevin Bacon's.BUT... the reviewer hit right on it and I agree. To me, there were just TOO many artificially inserted elements and distractions that I feel were put in in order to give it 'Authenticity'. However, all the grating voice-overs of newsmen and announcers, and a number of other little things, just seemed irritating and I feel greatly detracted from what COULD have otherwise been an excellent film. I think what it came down to were the stylistic choices of the director. I looked up his other films and other than 'WHERE THE DAY TAKES YOU' prior to this film (I have not see it) it doesn't seem like he has really done that much of any import, and has done nothing since, which is kind of odd. Although he did pass away at a rather young age in 2009.I think he DID bring out some nice things that were important and helpful to the story. And, like I mentioned, the performances overall were very good. My lowly and wretched impression is that the director, while having some really good ideas, tried TOO dang hard to add SO many little touches that, if done well, COULD have been called 'Stylish', but ultimately to me anyway just struck me as artificial and somewhat jarring to the overall flow of the movie. I don't mind a highly stylized film if it is done well or even if just the style alone is what makes a movie interesting enough to watch. But, that isn't the case here...It is a shame too, because like the comment that you often hear, 'You KNOW that there's a good movie in there somewhere', in this case I feel that is true. If it just hadn't been for the 'Death of 1000 cuts', so to speak (or perhaps, directorial choices) the movie could have been pretty good. There really ARE some great moments in the film, but unfortunately many of these are lost amongst all the 'stylistic choices' that kind of water everything down, unfortunately...I don't know, many here DO indeed seem to like this film, and it DOES have a kind of 'Classic' feel to it which I liked. Perhaps I am just being a little too particular or critical of the way the director handled a lot of the film. Maybe, others may just be able to sit back and enjoy it.I think it would depend on how sensitive or demanding you are with your films and whether you would NOTICE these things I mentioned or whether they would even end up bothering you. But, to me anyway, they did kind of stand out and ultimately diminish the impact of the film.So, I hope that gives you at least some insight, or at least MY impression of the film and helps you decide whether it is the kind of movie that you would like...

It has always been baffling to me why this excellent film is hardly recognized! As others have so correctly remarked, the acting by Kevin Bacon and Christian Slater was top notch! And, the story is played out to perfection, along with being so, so inspiring. Almost all of the scenes in the court room also enhance those qualities. And, of course, Gary Oldman is Gary Oldman, that is, an excellent actor no matter what role he plays.A number of our friends have actually never heard of this movie. But, when one of them subsequently watched it, she remarked how good a movie it is.This film, along with "Awakenings", both need to be given so much more notoriety. I can watch either of them numerous times, and never be bored.

This is a great movie that, for some reason, no one has seen. I recently bought it because I am a big fan of Kevin Bacon, and I was completely amazed by his performance. The fact that he wasn't even nominated for an academy award shows you what a joke they are. All the actors are great, especially Bacon and Gary Oldman. The story is pretty good, and the movie is never boring, but the highlight of the film is Bacon's haunting portrayal of a man forced into solitary for three years. He manages to be both creepy and touching, which is amazing. There is some violence in the movie, so if you are not a fan of that, you might not want to watch. Other than that, however, I give a strong recommendation to fans of prison and courtroom movies, as this film contains some compelling elements of both. Overall - 8/10

Just about every factual detail of this film is a complete lie, right down to the spelling of Henry Young's name (Henri was an alias of this habitual bank robber and murderer). The whole film is just a high-handed defamation of the U.S. penal system, which did not warrant any such besmirching. I'm surprised that R. Lee Ermey was a part of this film. He probably regrets it by now. The real Henri Young jumped parole in 1972, was last seen in Washington State, and may still be alive and at large today with at least two known homicides to his credit. He was not a non-violent offender at the time he came to Alcatraz, he was serving a sentence for murder and bank robbery! He did not spend 3 years or even three months in solitary after the escape attempt, and murdered McCain over a year after rejoining the general prison population. His solitary time was done in a normal holding cell in the main cell block, with normal lighting, exercise, medical attention, and food supplies throughout the entire period. DO NOT GET YOUR HISTORY FROM Hollywood! They spin sentimentalist lies at every possible opportunity. Check out the facts on "Birdman of Alcatraz" and "Awakenings" for two more infamous pack of lies.