Rating: 
Summary: The best movie I have ever seen
Review: I thought this was a great movie when I had seen it in the theaters when it first came out but after having seen it again on video I have to say this movie now replaces Goodfellas as my favorite movie of all time. Susan Sarandon was an easy choice for best actress and Sean Penn should have won best actor - he is as good as there is in this type of role. The entire supporting cast was brilliant as well, so much so that you'll sometimes forget you're actually watching a movie and not a documentary. Beautiful Louisiana scenery. Great, perfectly fitting music by Bruce Springsteen. Superbly scripted. This movie can make you laugh and cry at the same time. It was also nice that a major motion picture finally portrayed a religious figure (a nun) in a positive light. I cannot even think of a single flaw this movie had. If I had to write this movie myself , I don't know if I would change a thing.
Rating:
Summary: YOU WILL NEVER FORGET THIS FILM
Review: Table all pre-conceived notions of whether Capital Punishment is wrong or right. Set aside your personal opinions on how society views convicted killers. DEAD MAN WALKING examines all sides of the coin, from the eyes of the victims, their families, the legal system, religious counselors and finally the convict himself. Sean Penn is almost scary in his portrayal of Matthew Poncellet. With convincing facial expressions, voice and demeanor, Penn nails every scathing, miserable characteristic of a "white trash" criminal with no remorse for his chosen way of life and his lack of respect for everything and everyone in his world. By the film's end, your heart can't help but bleed for him in is agony, but what a pity it took the tragedy of murder to bring him to his knees. Susan Sarandon perfectly portrays a kind and gentle Sr. Helen Prejean (who makes a cameo appearance in the film at a candlelight demonstration outside the prison). WARNING: This movie is very painful to watch, and certain scenes of violence, aside from the final execution by lethal injection, may disturb the faint-hearted.
Rating:
Summary: Dead On
Review: Buoyed by two memorable performances, Dead Man Walking is the charged narrative of a convicted killer brought to redemption by a selfless nun. It manages to bring to the screen one of the most original polemics on capital punishment ever. Director Tim Robbins gives us an emotionally complex look at the human ugliness on all sides of the issue. Written and acted with a rare honesty, Dead Man Walking challenges our all-consuming desire for revenge in the face of savagery. The genius of Dead Man Walking is how it humanizes those we deem monsters yet completely condemns the acts of violence that got them there. For this reason this alone it's bound to raise the ire of some; it's far more easy to see a murderer as alien rather admit our own culpability in his creation.
Rating: 
Summary: Unflinching look at the Death Penalty
Review: Dead Man Walking is a clear-eyed look at the death penalty. It never takes sides, and its point seems to be that, regardless about your thoughts on the death penalty, EVERYONE involved is made to suffer in one way or another. While the movie was intelligently written and directed, the two leads make this movie the emotional gut-punch it is. Sarandon won an Oscar, but for me, Penn turned in the better performance. His angry denials of his involvement in the crime and desperate attempts to make others believe his innocence erode and finally give way as the inevatibility of what is about to happen to him bring him to tearfully admit his culpability and beg for forgiveness from those he has hurt. These scenes will burn into your conscienceness forever. Definitely a movie to absorb and then sort out in your mind later. Dramatic and powerful.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent look at our justice system
Review: This movie totally opened my eyes and formed my opinion on capital punishment in our society. I feel if anyone believes in the death penalty they should see this movie before they commit themselves to it. Sarandon and Penn were both excellent, I was disappointed Penn didn't win an award, too.
Rating: 
Summary: .
Review: Although fundamentally well-performed by Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, this film isn't nearly as powerful as it is purported to be. It works, overall, and there are some strong moments, but it tries a little too hard to be thought-provoking and emotionally wrenching. I felt like things could've been developed a bit more, and a few things could've been toned down (the execution scene is a bit over-the-top, dramatically speaking.) I don't know. Far from a bad film, but by no means a masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: The film of its year.
Review: Sean Penn got ROBBED. Bottom line. It doesn't surprise me that the Academy didn't have the guts to give him the Oscar he deserved. They would have thought it too controversial considering the subject. They are never ones to take stands unless you count giving an award to a guy who ratted out his friends (for Elia Kazan last year). ??? Anyway, the film made me feel just gutted. Whatever your opinion on capitol punishment, you will be left with some feeling of sorrow for all of the characters. Penn as Poncelet, Sarandon as Sister Helen, the families left behind of the victims and killer, the children from the projects Sister Helen helps out. Everyone suffers. It was an amazing film that made me open my eyes a little wider. Extraordinary. If you haven't yet seen it, DO! It will leave you changed.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling
Review: This film was so good and so socially resposible. IT PRESENTED BOTH SIDES OF THE ISSUE. But it convinced me to change my pro-capital punishment stance. Terrfic acting by Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. Both deserved Oscars. Watch this movie for the scene where Susan Sarandon sings to Sean Penn before his death.
Rating:
Summary: A great movie.
Review: Highly recommend this film. I recently saw it for the fourth time and I am glad to see that it has not lost anything in frequent watchings. Everyone I show it to, also enjoys it. It makes you think and feel about REAL things. Yes, this entire film is based in and ON REALITY -- something we seem to have avoided in modern times (forgive the cynicism!) Penn and Sarandon are excellent cast choices and there are no LONG empty spots where time just drags by. I congratulate Sister Prejean for writing this her non-fiction book and permitting it to be put on the screen.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible...I can't believe people love this movie!!
Review: Why a lot more people supporting the criminal side than the victims? Why? The nun's view toward execution makes me feel sicked.This movie appeals sympathy for the criminal who doesn't deserve anything but death.It hurts me that people admire such a movie.
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