Once the movie gets past the character development the movie takes off like a bat out of hell. The plot by itself is enough to impress with the twists and turns of Denzel's investigation. The acting in it is great too. Denzel's acting is never disappointing in my opinion, and this movie reinforces it. From the minute the real excitement of the movie began I could not look away. I started watching around 4 and didn't realize I was hungry and hadn't eaten dinner until it was over.
This movie was very well written both plot and dialog. There are some AMAZING quotes in this movie. Christopher Walken says "His art is death, and he is about to paint his masterpiece." My goodness...there are very few quotes that are THAT amazing.
There were also some very little subtleties that I enjoyed. One scene had Denzel in a car, and on the radio was "Hey Mickey," you know, that annoying ass song that probably caused an increase in the suicide rates of those named Mickey. Not only was it on the radio, but it was in Spanish! Made me chuckle...then Denzel continued his work which made me snap out of it :). Some of the things he did were uhhh creative to say the least. Another subtlety was the subtitles when Spanish was spoken. They made it so that they added to the feeling of the movie instead of just translating. Certain words were larger, others had shadow effects to them. Probably the coolest thing they did with the subtitles was how they moved off the screen. One was removed from the picture when a van passed behind it and the subtitles became attached to the back of the van. Another set disappeared when the guy spun in his chair. Cool huh?
There were very, very few things that I dislike about this movie, and none that were enough to lower the rating. Dakota Fanning is one. That piercing scream was enough to break my glasses. Another was the contradictions of Denzel's character. One who is a devout Christian who can finish biblical passages without hesitation would NEVER attempt to commit suicide. Also, I wish the subtitles had translated exactly what the person was saying. With my amazing intellect and intensive training in Spanish, I know that the words "puta" and "chinga tu madre" do not translate into anything close to what was written.
It ended how I had expected, but it was the best way to end such a movie. Look to see my top 25 updated soon, for this has surely made the list. 2 1/2 hours is a lot of time to devout to a movie, but it was well worth it. 5/5 stars is almost an insult to this movie.
Next 5 movies: Rambo: First Blood, War, Terminator: Salvation, The Hurt Locker, Three Kings
I loved this movie when I was like 14. Haven't seen it in a few years.
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