Rating: 
Summary: One of Spike Lee's finest.....
Review: I loved Spike Lee's "The 25th Hour" and consider it to be one of his finest films - which says a lot. Truthfully, Mr. Lee has never made a film which I did not like, and would rank "The 25th Hour" just a few notches below "Do the Right Thing," "Malcolm X" and "Clockers." But it's still a brilliant, at times innovative, work blessed with superb protrayals, an electric eye for NY locale and heartbreaking angst.I doubt Spike Lee will ever make a true box office hit - he's just not in to postcards or happy endings. There's always a slight hint of rage beneath the surface, explosive in nature, waiting to break out. Vent, baby vent. Norton's rap during the bathroom scene has been done before in previous Lee films, but in the wake of 9-11, it's perhaps more relevant than ever. The multiple scenes of improvisation also ring a familiar chord, but as a viewer we are witnessing the creative process on screen. I understand why some viewers would consider these scenes "lazy," since it goes against the grain of Hollywood formula filmmaking. But there's an uncomfortable reality to these scenes, developing personality and providing clues to the ultimate rage the characters suffer from. The performances are uniformly superb. Edward Norton, in a largely passive role, has 24 hours of freedom remaining before taking the long trip to prison for dope dealing. He gathers his circle of childhood friends, among them a Wall Street trader (Barry Pepper) and a sexually frustrated school teacher (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), for one final night of camaraderie at a NY nightclub. During the evening, each character will reveal their frustrations, their lives defined by lost dreams and disappointments. Uncomfortably resting within the missing shadows of the World Trade Center, their angst is seemingly rooted in opportunities lost. These moments ring with emotional truth, equally haunting and heartbreaking. I found the scenes with the Russian Mafia to be far too cliched, where shadowed criminals spout passages of pseudo street wisdom to cheer up Norton's doomed character. I expected Marlon Brando to make an appearance adorned in tuxedo, with a mouth full of kleenex. "The 25th Hour" has so much to do with regret and loss. In some way, each character has exploited freedoms which exist in our unique American society. In some way, they have abused the ideal. Following the terrorist bombings of NY, there are now emotional debts which must be paid. Like Edward Norton's character at the end of "The 25th Hour," we are battered and bruised. Our crimes perhaps rooted in having taken our utopia for granted.
Rating: 
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: I watched this not expecting much and was left with my jaw hanging. This is everything a movie should be. A perfect cast, a simple story bringing out complex emotions, both in the characters and the viewers, originality, creativity, a gem of a scenario and the right tone throughout. It left me with a sense of completeness as if everything had been said that needed to be said. I cannot believe it went virtually unnoticed by critics and viewers alike. Such simple, crafted work deserves Oscar attention. The antidote to Hollywood's excess.
Rating: 
Summary: pandering drivel
Review: Oh boy. I don't go to movies very often because I find most of them mindless and dull, and for the price of admission, I'd like a little substance. So I read some previews of this, and it sounded kind of interesting...it was made out like "what would you do if you had 24 hours of freedom left"...which can be a very intriguing question...
not in Spike Lee's hands. This turned into the worst piece of New York propaganda and soap boxing I've seen in a long long time. It's more a (bad) movie about post 9/11 New York than it is about anything else...and Edward Norton's character (and several others) go off randomly on these 5 minute rants about whatever seems to be bothering them at the moment, and while the audience was relatively amused, they shouldn't be...it was bad comic relief LADEN with cliches (cab drivers don't speak english? what a revelation!) and profanity to achieve their "satiric" effect. Nothing happens to the characters at all in the movie, and the girlfriend character was TERRIBLY written...she was so one-dimensional and stereotyped (ie meddlesome, teary, foil to Edward Norton doing what he wants....selfish, etc. etc. etc.) She evoked NO sympathy whatsoever
So Spike Lee took a decent premise and filled it with a love/hate diatribe both for and against the city of New York...that's all it is...if you don't have an opinion on New York, stay away from this movie, because you'll get NOTHING from it.
Rating: 
Summary: Could have been so much more.
Review: Another customer, Michael Crane, has written an excellent review here titled "Great concept, weak execution" which you should read. I have only a couple things to add. First, the premise is fatally flawed: It is simply not plausible that Edward Norton's character - after being convicted of drug crimes and sentenced to prison - would be entrusted with a free day or two, and would be expected to voluntarily report to prison to begin serving his sentence. If such practice were common, we'd have lots of felons on the streets (but at least no prison over-crowding problem). Second, there is a disappointing lack of character development in this film. This stands in sharp contrast to a similar and far superior Edward Norton film, American History X, in which the main character undergoes an amazing transformation from someone who perpetrated hate crimes into someone who tries to stop them. That film is intense and disturbing and definitely not for everyone, but the story of Norton's transformation is so beautiful, so moving. In contrast, the protagonist in 25th Hour has no catharsis. He learns some information about who his friends are, but he experiences no growth, no transformation. If he becomes repentent by the film's end, it's not because he realizes what he did was wrong, it's because he got caught and now must pay the price. Third, and I concede I could well be missing something here, it seemed to me that the side-plots and peripheral characters do not add much to the main plot. Like Mr. Crane said in his review, 25th Hour is not a bad film, and I doubt you'd regret seeing it. But it could have been so much more, and I'd caution you to rent it before spending your hard-earned $$$ to buy a copy of the DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I was expecting
Review: I went to see this movie at the theatre originally purely because it had Edward Norton in it, but by the time I'd left it had become my favourite movie of the year. The basic premise seems simple enough - repentant former drug dealer Monty (Norton) has 24 hours left before he's hauled back into prison after the police raid his apartment - but it's the small nuances in the plot, the performances, direction and look of the film that make it so worthwhile. This isn't simply another hug-and-be-happy movie where Monty merely realises his wrongs and accepts his punishment; this is a hard abrasive picture that makes you remember in equal measures why you can both love and detest life at the same time. Edward Norton gives his best performance since his tour de force in American History X, which will surely come as a relief to fans who saw him so underused in box office success Red Dragon. He really makes you believe that he is a man with emotional scars, a dealer whose life has caught up with him and he realises it instinctively before it's there. There's also a spotlight-grabbing performance from Josie and the Pussycats actress Rosario Dawson, who proves that she's more than capable of transforming herself from child to adult actor. Coincidentally, there's another actress who's done just that, Anna Paquin, who also appears as a student of Monty's best friend (played by the ubiquitous Phillip Seymour Hoffman). This is a much more exuberant role than her restrained yet still equally impressive performance as Rogue in the X-Men movies. A lot has been made of the fact that The 25th Hour is the first movie to really deal with a New York post-September 11th. This worried me significantly prior to seeing it mainly due to a concern that it may handle a sensitive subject in a fashion that may offend it audience. However, the film mostly seems to have a kind of quiet melancholy personified in Monty as the camera pans over the wasteland of Ground Zero. In many ways this is a hauntingly beautiful look at an America that seems all but broken, where any glimmers of hope seem unrealistic and fragile. The 25th Hour always has anger bubbling under its surface, that explodes fairly early in the movie with Monty's diatribe against minority groups, an assault that is actually aimed at himself and something that deserves a piece of classic movie history. Understandably this is a controversial movie and it's easy to see why given its subject, but it's also dazzlingly brilliant in places and even now remains my favourite film of the year.
Rating:
Summary: An emotional wasteland
Review: I am an admirer of Spike Lee's work; also, Edward Norton. But no amount of acting makes up for a film in search of a plot. An audience can't have compassion for stereotypical characters who don't move them. This film is TRYING to be way too arty,and it sinks even lower with far too much flag-waving and gratitious
violence. What a waste of an evening; save yourself the time and don't fall for this one, no matter what the reviewers promise.
Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: 25th Hour Cast: Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson Plot Summary: If you had 24 hours left before you had to say goodbye to everyone you knew, your family, your friends, your life, how would you spend those 24 hours? What would you say, how would you feel, what would you do? This movie tries to answer all these questions for one man...but there's a twist (of COURSE there's a twist, this IS a Spike Lee film, after all). Manty Brogan is a 31-year-old drug dealer from New York who's set to go to prison for a 7 year term after someone tipped the cops to his activities. Now, he has 24 hours to spend with his friends, his girlfriend, and his father. He doesn't know who tipped the cops, and so he's suspicious of everyone. And those around him have plenty of problems of their own. His girlfriend doesn't know how she will handle life without him. His father owed money to some dangerous people--that's why Monty started selling drugs in the first place. One of his friends is a neurotic stock broker and the other is an uptight high school teacher who has a "thing" for one of his female students. All of these stories play off each other as the film builds to its ambiguous climax. Review: Spike Lee films are a mixed bag. They have interesting stories, but are bogged down by too much preachiness. Not so with this one. For those who are familiar with the "Hate" monologues of Lee's film "Do the Right Thing" (one character or multiple characters spout off at the camera about how they hate various other minorities), that scene is played out here, but with urprising results. Hating others because you're pissed off about your lot in life inevitable leads to the conclusion that your problems, however they may be connected to others, are still YOUR problems, and hating others won't get you any closer to solving those problems. All of his films have this message in some way, but his subtlty is improving with time. Norton does a great job of portraying this character as a nice guy with some flaws. Monty's not a bad guy. The opening scene of this film shows him rescuing a wounded dog, whom he later adopts. He clearly loves his girlfriend, and he wants to start a family with her--though now he doesn't know if he can trust her, since she may have been the one who ratted on him. He also loves his father, and he'd do anything to help him. But he's not totally sympathetic--he may have started selling drugs to help his father, but he surely took advantage of the lifestyle that the money afforded him. The film doesn't make any value judgements on his character--he is who he is, and this is how he's spending his last 24 hours of freedom. Rosario Dawson is also great as Monty's girlfriend, Naturel. She's worried about how Monty's acting, yet still ambiguous enough that we suspect she might have something to do with his arrest. Barry Pepper is Monty's neurotic Stock Broker friend Francis. He too seems to have two personalities: He pledges to always be there for Monty, but talks behind his back about how Monty deserves what he gets, and once Monty goes to prison, the friendship is over. He's very "friendly" toward Naturel, yet he blames her for taking advantage of the money Monty's lifestyle provided even though they all knew it was dangerous for him. It's always unclear which of these people is the "true" Francis. Perhaps he doesn't even know himself. Philip Seymour Hoffman is excellent (isn't he always? as the uptight high school teacher with amarous feelings for his 17 year old student, Mary (Anna Paquin). He's fighting these feelings, sorting through his feelings about Monty, and stumbling uncomfortably through the movie, always looking unsure of what to do next. But what will happen when Mary shows up at the club where Monty is having his going away party...? Monty is trying to figure out who turned him in, but that is far from the only thing on his mind. he knows that these 24 hours are important--how will he say goodbye to this part of his life?--but what is more important is that the rest of his life will be determined by what happens in that 25th hour. The first impression that he makes in prison will determine whether he will survive his sentance. After all, Monty's a good-looking guy, and good looking guys often have a hard time in prison... Reflections: 25th Hour is about the little things in life that determine the big things. One small moment between Hoffman's character and his student will affect the future of his entire career. Monty's good looks could endanger the rest of his life. The importance of little things is underscored when Monty asks Hoffman's character to take care of his dog. He says saving the dog is "one of the best things I've ever done...every day he has for the rest of his life is because of me." At the end of the film, everything is resolved and yet nothing is resolved (kinda like life, isn't it?) Chance and choice work together to determine destiny, and how you act and react even in small situations will affect the rest of your life. As the film's final line says, "It all came so close to not happening..." But this movie isn't about the rest of your life. It's about now. We don't know what will happen in Manty's 25th hour, but from viewing these 24, whether we like the character or not, we at least CARE what happens. That is the genius of this film, and why it is well worth seeing.
Rating:
Summary: For New Yorkers
Review: Spike Lee is a true New Yorker and this is the first movie to deal with the after effects of 9/11. New Yorkers will appreciate and empathize with the fatalism and sense of hopelessness. This is an invaluable and moving document of an unforgettable period. Thank you Spike.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful and Stylistic
Review: Spike Lee hasn't quite gotten the recognition he deserves. 25th Hour is one of the best films of 2002 yet it was somewhat underrated and overlooked. It is moody, powerful, and thoughtful. It is not a plot-driven film as it follows a retired drug dealer during his last day before a 7-year prison sentence. As the first film made in New York after September 11, the destruction and mourning caused by the attacks is very present in the film. 25th Hour has a powerful voice that speaks to everyone. One particular scene in which Edward Norton talks cynically to himself may seem slightly offensive to some, but that's not the point. The cast gives great performances with characters the audience can relate to. Rosario Dawson gives a mature and believable performance as Norton's girlfriend. Philip Seymour Hoffman is a conflicted and mild-mannered school teacher, and Barry Pepper is an egotistical stock broker. This film will make you reflect on your own life and the world we live in. Our struggles, the decisions we must make, the prejudices and false judgements we have - they all come to life on screen through a character who realizes the mistakes he's made are going to change his life.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie, Excellent DVD, Excellent Portrayal of NYC
Review: Shot a couple of months after 9/11, Spike Lee's "25th Hour" focuses on Montgomery Brogan's last night of freedom before he goes to jail for 7 years for dealing drugs. Brogan, played by Norton, intends to spend his last night with his girlfriend (Dawson) & two childhood friends (Pepper & Hoffman) at a NYC club where he will have to face the gangsters he has been connected with that believe he may have ratted them out to the police. "25th Hour" has an intriguing premise, and is executed in an expert, evocative fashion by Lee. This is actually two strong movies in one - a person's last night of freedom before going to jail, but also, a study of a community living with the aftermath of having their home attacked by terrorists. Montgomery Brogan is scared of going to jail, but he also needs to find out who set him up, fearing, that it may have been his girlfriend. The score by Terrance Blanchard is one of the best I've ever heard in a movie - simply beautiful and brutally powerful. This is an emotionally charged movie that is suspenseful, humorous, and beautiful -- qualities that rarely come together quite as well as they do in Spike Lee movies. It is unfortuate that this movie didn't seem to be seen by as many as it should have - I recommend it to everyone I know. If you're a fan of the movie, the DVD is a must: two commentaries (director; screenwriter), several deleted scenes, a 22 minute special on Lee, and a tasteful, powerful Ground Zero montage.
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