Rating: 
Summary: Stylish, but predictible and slowly paced.
Review: This film was one of those on the list of movies I SHOULD like. However, I found the pace of the film slow and plodding and the story less than intriguing. I was not surprised by any plot twist or supposedly "hidden" motive. I disliked all the characters and thus had no one to identify with. I was yawning all the way through - and THIS review is coming from someone who LOVED "My Dinner with Andre."
Rating:
Summary: Bloated, meandering and overall boring
Review: Two stars only for the perfect-pitch casting. Because space is limited, let me just toss out the most egregious elements of the movie:* God this movie was long; * no Americans except people who think movies are art (these are the people who drink espresso and hold the semi-demitasse cups with a thumb and index finger) care to see a movie about class tensions; * the protagonist should not be markedly stupider than the audience. Anyone who wasn't yelling "Get the hell out of Rome" after Tom runs into Meredith is probably dumb enough to think this is a great movie; * Exactly why should the movie end after Tom's third murder, as opposed to the second, or even the first? There's no rhyme or reason to that particular place to end the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: A dead bore
Review: I saw this movie at the theater with a friend of mine, and then talked to my sister about it after she saw it for the first time, and we both come to the same conclusion, with a slight difference in the wording. I said, it starts slow, finishes slow, and never picks up any speed in between. My sister put it more succintly, there's two and a half hours of my life I'll never get back. My main problem was that I didn't care about any of these characters, or where the story was taking them. Every single one of them were self centered, egocentric blowhards, who if I had met in real life, I'd like to kill too. Maybe it wasn't even the characters, but the actors themselves because they seemed to be sleepwalking through this picture, not even really trying to give any kind of believable or interesting performance. The true problem is that the movie drags on and on, never picking up any speed or invoking any kind of real feeling. Once, the hero/villian killed for the first time, I couldn't have cared less. I didn't like or dislike him any more than when the movie started, nor did I care anything about the first man he kills. You just aren't made to care about anyone in this movie, everyone, not just the main character, seems amoral, and ill defined. The moral of the movie: Become a leech, feed off anyone and everyone for what you can get from them, and kill them when you can no longer sponge off them, or they become a danger to you. Lovely, isn't it?
Rating: 
Summary: A Voloptously Beautiful Sleek Suspense Film!
Review: This is one of the best psychological thrillers of the 90's. A bit overlong and the pace tends to drag at times but a handsome cast and high production values do more than pull it through. Matt Damon again shows us his real acting talents, he creates a compelling Ripley but one can't help but imagine other actors in the part. On the other hand, Jude Law is perfect for the part of Dickey, he's an exciting and promising new talent. Gwyneth Paltrow gives a sadly underrated performance, low-key but extremely effective. Cate Blanchett and Phillip Seymour Hoffman are also great in support. Anthony Minguella directs with a mix if low-key manipulation set to picturesque backdrops that make for a satisfying experience. Beautiful cinematography beautifully captures all of the beauty of Italy. There are also some hidden homosexual undercurrents to Ripley's personality. A compelling plot, unsettling ending and a truly unforgettable grisly murder sequence make this one of the best films of 1999. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film an 8!
Rating: 
Summary: Disturbingly Excellent Film
Review: Anthony Minghella has now established himself among the premiere directors of quality films. His follow-up to "The English Patient", one of my favorite films ever made, is a stylish psychological thriller with deserves the Hitchockian buzz it created. It certainly deserved its Oscar nomination as one of the best five films of 1999. Matt Damon's performance was superb as he showed his range. This is not Good Will Hunting. He's an eery, disturbing character who transforms from beginning to end in a very believable way. He's not evil, and we practically empathize with a man who commits multiple murders. Some have complained this is a boring movie, including my wife, but I think they were misled by the advertisements preceding the film's release portraying it as a 90's type of suspense/thriller. It is a suspense/thriller, but more in the mode of Hitchcock then today's films. It is a character study, and a very believable (and disturbing) one.
Rating:
Summary: How do I give this a negative five stars.
Review: I can't beleive how bad this movie was. It's been a while since I have seen such bad acting and direction. There are few things I regret in life, and watching this movie is one of them. How did Gwyneth ever win an Oscar anyway? People, news flash! SHE CAN'T ACT! And Matt Damon isn't much better. I'm sure this review will get lost among all of the reviews that are giving this movie five stars. All I have to say is that I am very glad I don't know any of the people writing those reviews. If I can save just one person from wasting two hours of their life on this movie, I will be content.
Rating:
Summary: The Talented Mr. Boring!
Review: Let's get to the point! The movie was way too long, about 2 1/2 hours. It's about about a character named Tom Ripley, played by Matt "where's my partner Ben Affleck in this movie" Damon. Ripley's "talent" is to mimic and plagerize people. The whole movie didn't show any signs of his motive what so ever. It didn't explain why Ripley was impersonating someone from Dickie's (Jude Law) school, if he's really gay or just playing the role, if he's murdered anyone before, what happens to him later....It's just a mess of a story. Just imagine The Empire Strikes Back, and not knowing Star Wars or Return of the Jedi! I kept waiting for Dickie to come back, but he never did. I also thought Gwyneth Paltrow over-acted with her charecter. The only thing I liked about the movie were the beautiful cinematic scenes taken place in Europe.
Rating:
Summary: How NOT to make a name for yourself?
Review: Don't let the smiling faces of Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law on the cover fool you. The Talented Mr. Ripley is a disturbing film. And it's not a "Silence-of-the-Lambs," "what-if-this-really-happened" kind of disturbing, either. This story bothers us because the horrible irony of the concluding scene is both unavoidable and hauntingly logical. We have sympathized, even agreed, with Tom Ripley at each step in his journey. Unrequited envy, hopeless infatuation, and self-loathing are too-common emotions, and although our consciences, unlike Ripley's, may keep us from acting on them, his urges are our own. We've known a Dickie Greenleaf, a popular, talented go-getter who seems to have everything he wants. We've caught ourselves dressing, speaking, behaving like our idols. We've felt that peculiar blend of lust, jealousy, and admiration that makes us think thoughts we're ashamed of, start sentences we're embarrassed to finish, and cling breathlessly to dreams of "if only" and "someday." There are moments in this film where Matt Damon and Jude Law are the fiction--Tom Ripley and Dickie Greenleaf have such a REAL relationship on-screen that we feel right along with Ripley the thrill of sharing Dickie's laughter... the ache of admiring his beauty unnoticed... the sting of his fickle rejection. Paltrow, too, as the woman who has what Ripley wants but wants what Ripley has, is spellbindingly real. No one in the film--including Ripley--ever seems completely to know what's going on, and it's that sense of uncertainty perhaps that draws us so close to the characters. Just what is Mr. Ripley's talent? Watch the film and see what your answer is--my own answer hits a little too close to home.
Rating:
Summary: Mystery and lush surroundings always mix.
Review: "The Talented Mr. Ripley" makes for very intense and rousing entertainment, proving that Hollywood still has its charms and charisma when it wants to possess it. Matt Damon plays Tom Ripley, a not-so-well-known man who comes across the oppurtunity of a lifetime when he meets up with shipping magnate Herbert Greenleaf, who asks Tom to venture to Italy in order to convince his son to come back to America. Tom soon arrives in Italy, meeting up with Meredith Logue (Cate Blanchett), then making his way to greet Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) and his fiancee, Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow). The more time Tom spends in the company of his new-found friends, the more he becomes obsessed with tagging along on their boating trips, hoping that they will take him with them wherever they go. About the first hour into the film, the tension between Dickie and Tom grows, as Dickie begins to become tiresome of Tom's incessant company. While on a small side trip to Rome, the two begin a heated fight that ends in violence, and Dickie's death. Tom rids himself of the body and of his guilt, and takes over the role of Dickie Greenleaf, wearing his clothes, taking care of his business, lying this wayand that about Dickie's whereabouts to anyone that knows the both of them. From this point on, there is nothing but a constant amount of growing tension as Tom's secrets come close to being revealed. Set and costume design on this piece are breathtaking, and truly make the setting of 1950's Italy a genuine one. Damon is terrific as Ripley; Law stands out in one of his best roles since "Gattaca;" Paltrow is superb in her role, which changes in tone during the second half of the film; Blanchett plays her role out with a certain amount of annoyance, which is perfect for a character who seems to always pop into Tom's life at the most innoppurtune times. The plot is nothing short of a masterpiece, and has been well adapted from the novel. The underlying themes of homosexuality and bisexuality are excellently brought to light in certain aspects of the movie, and it seems to be the master explanation for Tom's wanting to be a permanent part of Dickie's life. To sum it up, "The Talented Mr. Ripley" is a breathtaking period piece that will sweep its viewers into a uncontrollable frenzy of mystery, suspense, and the need for love and acceptance.
Rating:
Summary: Talented? HARDLY!
Review: This movie is horrible, it is way too long, and brings the word boring to new levels. It starts out okay but just drags on and on to the point where you want to rip your hair out in frustration. The best part was just knowing that the movie is over. The main character is so stupid and it is unbelievable that he never gets caught. The word talented should not appear in the title because you can't find a trace of it in the movie. It is BORING, and a waste of precious time that you will never be able to recover.
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