Rating: 
Summary: Nice movie!! Unexpected ending!!!
Review: This movie is very good, as other reviewers have said, it has an exceptional direction and some very good acting by almost every character on the film. As I could read, many people weren't happy with the ending (which I won't tell here, that's not the idea) but I encourage thriller fans to watch it and then stablish their own criteria about it. I do liked it and I gave it only 4 stars just because the DVD has not many things to explore, just the theatrical trailer and the cast and crew section...the movie itself, just excellent!
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous Film with Suspect Ending
Review: I, like many of the reviewers, really admired the quality of acting and direction in this film. It draws you into the mystery like a Hitchcock film, as it mesmerizes and enchants like Atom Egyoyan's "The Sweet Hereafter". Nicholson is far too often typecast as an abrasive maverick and in this film he is able to show off another side of his acting skills. Also, Penn has come a long way since the days of Sonic Youth's aptly titled "Crucifixion of Sean Penn". However...there were ways of ending this film in a non-mainstream way without resorting to cheap tactics. Just having everything cave in for the hero in the final moment is generally not an effective literary device, not much better than everything suddenly turning out great for the hero, as is often done in Holywood. The main conflict is keeping his pledge without putting the family at risk. It would have been better if he did capture and kill the serial killer, but in the crossfire the girl got injured and the mother dumped him as a result. That way he could have had the satisfaction of being right, but would also have been penalized for putting the girl in danger and not being honest with the mother. The film could then have had a bitter sweet ending that better suited the theme. He would have been forced to sacrifice his love of a family for higher justice and the viewers would have been left with a lot of material for discussion about the moral dilema he faced. It seems like Penn just wanted Nicholson to look like Gene Hackman in "The Conversation" sitting there in his dismantled room playing his sax in a state of dishelvelment and paranoia.
Rating: 
Summary: Yow!!!!
Review: I once knew a 13-year-old kid who decided to enter a short story contest by writing a piece of fiction about a bank robbery.The story was pretty simple and straightforward. Four disaffected teenagers want to buy a car and drive out to California, but they don't have any money. One thing leads to another, and they rob a bank, using toy guns. They buy a car, drive to California, and live on the beach near Santa Monica, having completed the perfect caper. Once the kids get to California, the story ended, sort of like this: "One day they were crossing the street and everybody got run over by a truck. The End." Needless to say, "The" Ending for "The Pledge" is a lot like that. Otherwise, the story isn't bad, and the acting certainly isn't bad. Personally, I liked the direction and cinematography. How entertaining is it? I'll put it this way - I was interested enough that I watched the thing all the way through, which is an acheivement in itself, since I find Jack Nicholson's "Man-driven-crazy" acts too tired. However, as an intellectual execise, "The Pledge" is a joke. If the end of this movie was any more improbable, it would have drawn hoots and guffawws from any alert audience.
Rating: 
Summary: I Loved It
Review: Seems like so many people didn't enjoy this one. I wonder why. Sean Penn proves he's a worthwhile director, he sets things up in an interesting way and what about Jack's performance? I personally didn't care much for Something Gotta Give, here Jack seems to be more in his stride.
Rating:
Summary: Hyper-realism marred by a history of Hollywood.
Review: Jack Nicholson. Sean Penn. Benicio Del Toro. These three names alone will bring mainstream viewers to this film; however 90% of them will be expecting Hollywood and 90% will walk away from this film because they have just watched something closer to art-house cinema than the A-list Hollywood affair that it promotes. The Pledge is akin to watching something like Dead Man Walking minus the Hollywood plot devices or Spike Lee's Summer of Sam without the pace. It certainly is not like Silence of the Lambs, Seven or Psycho as some have been thinking. If your expectations are Hollywood, then forget it. You will only be disappointed. If you are looking for a serial killer film that moves in a more realistic fashion with non-mainstream plot elements then The Pledge will deliver. There are a number of things that make this film different. Nicholson's character is more obsessive and paranoid but keeps his cool for the most part of this film. He also befriends a woman half his age and this is not your typical Hollywood bonding. The actual investigation of the serial killings is more or less played out in a very realistic way, often boring and never really seems to amount to much. The crime evidence is hard to obtain and the investigation leads are miniscule (as with most real-life cases). For this reason Nicholson's character is mostly trying to grasp at straws which leaves him on the ignore list at his former police department. In retirement he buys a filling station and tags cars that he believes could be connected with the crimes. The crimes themselves are brutal and VERY GRAPHIC. There are a number of scenes depicting child murders that are very disturbing. The film's realism is what makes it so good. It is slow and often may seem boring, but this is daring and the director should be appreciated for not doing what WE HAVE SEEN A HUNDRED TIMES BEFORE. The fact is that most serial killer flicks are clichéd driven but here Penn takes us on a very different journey from a lot of different angles. In short, this film is much closer to a real-life hunt for a serial killer than any other mainstream Hollywood murder mystery flick. The ending will annoy some, but personally I love it. I think that the ending is very suitable for the material at hand because in most cases serial killers, who are not caught, are either - dead/have gone insane/have been locked up for another unrelated crime. So this film really does play out the realism very well. I also like the fact that certain plot elements are left unknown to many of the characters. This is a very good character device and you do not see that done very often. This is a very original movie that stays on rational ground. The scene where the cops decide to tell the parents of a dead girl what has happened is absolutely one of the most troubling things any human being can do and it is just done so well in this movie. I can not see how this film fails to engage anyone with a heart. This is a touching film - a touching journey into the darker crossings in life that some do go through. This is a very good movie with some "reservations" for those who hate anything less than "mainstream" murder mysteries.
Rating:
Summary: Ok, Nicholson can act! Great news...
Review: We all know Nicholson can act. And tha''s the only thing worthwhile in this movie: to watch him interpret in a great and convincing manner a retired cop haunted by a Pledge to solve the murder of a little girl. But that's all you will get from this movie, fellow. Penn's direction is slow, uninspiring. No, I'm not just another fast-food film consumer. But it was clear for me that Penn tried to design a special mood for the film, but id not work. The cast is also misleading to potential audience: we've got the names of Del Toro and Rourke: they appear briefly, no more than four minutes, probably paying some kind of favor to Penn. It was not a total waste of time, but it came close. MOvies like Charlie's Angels are a TOTAL waste of time because they're total junk; movies like this one comes close because they heroically try to be bigger than they really are, and it does not always work.
Rating:
Summary: Twisty, Cunning, Beautifully Potrayed!
Review: Sean Penn abducts the audience in a twisty, cunning way, the killer remains unknown even at the time of death. Detective Jerry goes wacko and ends up jabbering in the last scene.The Characters were beatifully potrayed by jack nicholson and penn. brilliant work!
Rating:
Summary: Negative existentialism at its finest
Review: This movie is not your typical Hollywood cookie cutter film. It doesn't end neatly or happily. Questions are left unanswered. It challenges the audience, especially at the end when you're going to be angry after getting such a large dose of negative existentialism. The dirty ending is similar to the other movies Sean Penn has directed - notably "The Indian Runner" and "The Crossing Guard." Penn is a big Bruce Springsteen fan and it shows in his ambiguous treatment of the characters - he focuses in on them, shows a snapshot of their lives, and then pulls the camera away, giving barebones exposition, and trusting the audience to reach their own conclusions. For example, despite being the central character of the movie, we know almost nothing of Detective Jerry Black's (Jack Nicholson) background. And, at the end, we have no idea what's going to happen to him next. Penn doesn't give an opinion about whether Black is right or wrong to put a child in harm's way to catch a serial killer, nor does he tell us whether Black entered a relationship with the child's mother because he loved her, was lonely, or wanted to use her in his investigation (or some combination of the three). The questions left unanswered at the end are similar to those of "Mystic River" and make the movie so good. Penn trusts his audience to be smart. Like "Shawshank Redemption," this movie demands a second viewing immediately after the first. As for the performances, Jack Nicholson and Robin Wright Penn are fantastic. It's one of Nicholson's best films of late and doesn't just rely on him to do his Jack thing
Rating:
Summary: Muddled, worthy effort, falls under its own gravitas.
Review: If I had to guess, the screenplay for the Pledge was a partially realized early draft. I has the muddle characterized by speed-writing, and a lack of careful, thoughtful introspection and analysis. One reviewer said the film is not for "dolts." Aside from the being irrelevant and a rather ham-handed attack at the film's detractors, that is beside the point. Clearly, the Pledge has some high concepts and ambitions, but the story it tells fails in providing coherent characters, as well a muddled story line. What, then, is the ultimate message? Is it that life's circumstances can go irrationally, tragically wrong? That a man's "pledge" (an ill-advised one at that), despite being borne of the noblest motives (it appears), can result in a life spiralling out of control and leading to alcoholic psychosis? Frankly, we never learn enough about any of the characters to understand their motives, and while some of the acting performances resonate with potential (Benecio Del Toro in particular), they are arranged in a sloppy jigsaw. I left this film quite certain of one thing--it wasn't really worth the time to watch, despite the good intentions and interesting ideas that didn't cohere.
Rating:
Summary: Promises and their consequences
Review: The Pledge is more of a character study than it is a Cop/Crime drama but that is a very good thing. There is action in this film but it's more about a good man that will do anything to live up to the promise that he has made. Jerry Black (played magnificantly by Jack Nickolson) is on the trail of a killer that has brutally murdered an innocent young girl. He makes a "Pledge" to the mother of the victim to find the murderer and you can tell that when Black makes a promise he keeps it. When watching this film, keep an open mind. Unlike many other movies a formalaic script does not exsist here. This film is a study of real life and the pain that goes along with trying ones best and having the results not come out the way one hoped (tragically portrayed in the last 3rd of this film). Many stars make cameo appearances which is nice to see but these cameos aren't just for show, they all contribute to the film's success. Everyone is so believable that you find yourself not "star hunting" but losing yourself in the brilliant acting performances. This movie will make you mad. This movie will make you upset. This movie will leave you feeling empty and maybe even depressed. You might not even like it the first time around (I didn't). But after you have digested what you have watched you realize that you have seen something special and Penn has made you think.
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