The Pledge

Rating:
Summary: Powerful Film-Making
Review: Bravo to Sean Penn and Jack Nickolson for making a bold, and powerful movie. True, the story is horrible and tragic, and as one reviewer put it "I don't like movies that make me depressed." The story keeps you riveted, and terrified. The performances are outstanding. The ending is unlike any that audiences could have anticipated. The sorrow lets you feel alive, and think about what tragedy could be.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie!
Review: "The Pledge" starts with the retirement of Detective Jerry Black(Nicholson). Unfortunately, a mere 6 hours before Black's retirment, a little girl is raped and murdered. Black makes a pledge to the grieving mother that he will find her daughter's killer. Immediately an Indian named Toby(del Toro)is arrested for the murder, with a long criminal history Toby is a logical choice. The detectives even get a confession out of Toby, however seconds later Toby committs suicide. So the case if officially closed. However, Black isn't satisfied. He becomes obsessed when he finds out that 8 years ago another little girl was raped and murdered and another girl is still missing. They all match the same description and age range. Black goes so far as to buy a general store and start a relationship with a single mother(who has a little girl). He uses them as bait in trying to get the killer he is convinced is still out there. "The Pledge" is NOT a mindless action-packed Hollywood movie with a typical happy ending. It is an exercise in great acting and psychology. Jerry Black is chasing a killer but he is also trying to turn back time. There are some incredible scenes in the beginning of the movie where Black looks at pictures of himself when he was young, he also catches a glimpse of an elderly man using a walker to get around outside his window. This is what awaits Black, unless he can prove that he is still useful. Black is chasing a killer but he's also chasing his youth and usefulness. "The Pledge" is an intelligent work of art with an incredible performance from Nicholson. Penn's direction is magnificent, he's not interested in giving us a happy ending he's interested in telling a great realistic and thought-provoking story. Nicholson and Penn make a great team and they have made a great great movie here.

Rating:
Summary: One of the worst movies of all time
Review: Please don't waste your time with this movie. The only people who like it are the "artsy" types who will like it simply because the unwashed masses hated it (we don't understand "art").

Rating:
Summary: Very, Very Disapointing!! Great talent but a terrible movie.
Review: Considering the talent this is a very disjointed movie. Benicio Del Toro is only on for five minutes. The same for Helen Mirren.The great Jack Nicholson is wasted. This is NOT a happy ending movie. Sean Penn has a very disapointing directing style. It is slow and disjointed. My wife liked it.(there is no accounting for taste!) In my opinion this is NOT a TWO hour popcorn movie.

Rating:
Summary: Depressing...
Review: I have said it before, and I am saying it again I DON'T LIKE MOVIES THAT MAKE ME DEPRESSED! (real life is depressing enough!) The only good thing about this movie was the acting, and the basic plot concept. Benicio Del Toro was in this movie for all of 5 minutes (so don't see this just for him). The first scene of the movie shows you exactly how it is going to end, yet I was stupid enough to sit through it anyhow. Good concept, Great acting, VERY Bad Movie

Rating:
Summary: The Pledge is Unoriginal
Review: While Jack Nicholson supplies a good performance, Sean Penn's directorial debut is anything but original. The screenplay is almost identical to a little-known 1994 British production of "In the Cold Light of Day," wherein Richard E. Grant plays the role of the protagonist detective with even more intensity than Jack Nicholson. The Pledge's screenplay appears to have a few plot elements altered in order to distinguish itself from "In the Cold Light of Day;" however, these changes merely add to story-line non sequiturs. My advice: buy the British version of this story "In the Cold Light of Day" which is also available through Amazon.

Rating:
Summary: A flawed but compelling film
Review: "The Pledge" flew under most everyone's radar when it was released theatrically earlier this year. I was somewhat surprised at the time, given the success of dark films like "Seven" and the pedigree of Nicholson and Sean Penn, but it makes sense in retrospect. Today's multiplex is not friendly to movies like this. "The Pledge" is a flawed study of obsession that isn't for everyone. You may turn it off halfway through, bored with director Penn's deliberate style. Or, like me, you may be compelled to see it again and again.

Not many actors have the presence to pull a role like Jerry Black off, and Nicholson does it with skill to burn. However, while the script turns on some nagging questions, one of them undermines much of the film: we don't understand Jerry well enough to know what fuels his obsession. Was it some previous case that went bad? "The Pledge" doesn't want to give you all the answers, and leaves several things deliberately cryptic, but everything hinges on Jerry's motivation. How did Mrs. Larsen (Patricia Clarkson) coax such a life-or-death pledge out of Jerry? And if he agrees merely to tell a grieving mother what she wants to hear, why does he feel so bound by the pledge, and why does he follow through to such a degree? Another major flaw is the stunted romance between Jerry and Robin Wright Penn's character--it feels obligatory, as if the screenwriters were just using a tried and true playbook, but it's somewhat implausible, doesn't serve the plot, and should've been scrapped.

But with Nicholson, the consummate pro, and some good use of the Nevada setting's stark beauty (the night- and snow-bound murder scene is as good as movies get), "The Pledge" overcomes some script weaknesses and pacing problems to deliver a flawed but compelling portrait of human obsession. A warning: if you like every answer wrapped up in a neat little package at the end, this is NOT the movie for you. "The Pledge" is challenging and flawed, but I'll take a movie like this over any number of "Pearl Harbors" that you want to throw my way.

Rating:
Summary: The Pledge will please some and agitate many
Review: This movie definitely will polarize viewers. People that like happy endings where all the plots are easily sewn up will detest 'The Pledge'. Those who are more comfortable with a 'real-life' ending will acknowledge that Nicholson plays this character flawlessly. Nicholson portrays a retired cop who becomes so blinded by obsession in finding this serial killer and keeping his commitment to one of the victim's families, he doesn't comprehend that putting someone else's child in harm's way in hopes of catching this fiend is just as bad as not doing anything and just retiring.

Also, I think I'm in the minority here but this is one of Benicio Del Toro's weaker acting performances. He just doesn't convince me that he's a Native American. On a side note - I'm a huge Del Toro fan so it hurts me to write this. In fact my wife felt just the opposite on his performance so judge for yourself on how well he plays this role.

Yes, Sean Penn makes depressing stuff, but does that surprise anyone now? Judge the director on how the story comes out, regardless of how uncomfortable it might make one feel. This movie, while not a classic, doesn't deserve the trashing it has recieved.

Rating:
Summary: Amazed
Review: Imagine my surprise; after sitting through a two+ hour movie, paying rapt attention to what might be clues that lead to what is sure to be an exciting ending, I am not only SORELY disappointed by a hideously poor wrap-up, [....]

I don't even know where to start in terms of this film. There are SO MANY loose ends, so many details focused on over and over that ultimately lead nowhere, story lines begun that are never followed through on (including the title "pledge"). I am all for endings that leave something to the viewer's imagination - but I really got the sense that the cast and crew just got bored, chucked the script and called it quits.

Overall - in spite of moments of impressive acting and cinematography - extremely disappointing.

And that, my intelligent and unintelligent friends alike - is my OPINION!

Rating:
Summary: Very....very bad
Review: This movie is bad. very bad. I think the problem was they started the movie and didnÂ't know how to end it. You keep waiting thinking something exciting is going to happen but nothing ever does. This is the plot. A young girl is savagely raped and murdered. They find a retarded suspect (Benicio del Toro), and after his confesses, he commits suicide. Until there the movie is good. Retired Detective Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson) instantly thinks something is wrong, and he goes on the search. Then the movie goes off. Nothing else happens. You keep thinking something will happen, but nothing ever does. The ending is awful. Sean Penn had the knowledge and resources and a good story to make a good movie, but instead he makes an awful movie. The movie is slow. At the end we really donÂ't know who murdered that girl, we get sort of an idea, but nothing for sure. If you are looking for a suspenseful thriller that will keep you entertained, do not see this movie. I expected something good.