Rating: 
Summary: Well acted, well shot... but...
Review: This was a very well acted film with a strong cast. The film has some great visuals and sound as well. However, the story plods along a bit, and is fairly predictable. It is a pretty dark and depressing film, and so there are those that will automatically brand it as 'deep' because of that. I thought it was an ok film but it wouldn't of been memorable at all if it wasn't for the cast. Rent it if you must, but I'm not sure it is worth owning.
Rating: 
Summary: Tom Hanks as you've never seen him before
Review: Set in the Winter if 1931, ROAD TO PERDITION is director Sam Mendes' follow up to his Oscar winning AMERICAN BEAUTY. ROAD TO PERDITION is based on a graphic novel written by Max Allan Collins and illustrated by Richard Piers Rayner.
In a fine departure from his usual roles Tom Hanks plays ruthless gangster Michael Sullivan, who finds his life turned upside down when his son Michael Jr (Tyler Hoechlin) witnesses a bloody murder in which he was an accomplice. As if this isn't bad enough Sullivan also soon finds his own "Family" have issued orders for a hit on him. ("This house is not our home anymore. It's just an empty building" Hanks tells his son). This leads father and son on a cross country trip to evade their pursuers where Michael Sr discovers he may have a chance to turn his life around.
Paul Newman deserves a mention as he is sensational as Hanks's father and mentor. He just seems to get better with age. There are a couple of bloody sequences, especially at the climax; but ROAD TO PERDITION is basically a film about loyalty and redemption. The pace is a bit slow in parts but Conrad L. Hall's stunning cinematography more than makes it for it. Well worth seeing.
Rating: 
Summary: A Future Classic
Review: This was an excellent film. It is the best mob film since Goodfellas. When AFI does their next '100 Years, 100 Movies' this will be a part of the list. Excellent, this is the kind of film that critics love. I loved it also. It gets slow in a couple of parts, but still great either way.
Rating:
Summary: Elegantly Made But Unexpectedly Superficial
Review: Based on the graphic novel by Max Allan Collins, which was in turn based very loosely on various factual stories of the 1930s, THE ROAD TO PERDITION tells the story of Michael Sullivan, a family man and thoroughly nice guy who also happens to be an enforcer and hit man for the Irish Mob. Sullivan strives to keep his homelife separate from his work--but son Michael Jr. precipitates disaster when he follows his father and witnesses a murder. Determined to both protect his son and have revenge on the mob boys who have suddenly turned on him, Sullivan goes on the run with Michael, and in the process finally "finds his heart" through his determination that young Michael will never walk his road.There is a great deal to like about this film. The cinematography is astonishingly beautiful and extremely well supported by the editing, which is among the best I've ever seen, and the soundtrack, which lends the story a meloncholy depth. Many of the cast members are also exceptional, most particularly Jude Law, who creates perhaps the most chilling killer seen on screen in a decade. But the film has two significant problems: the plot and the star. There are several issues with the plot, and the overwhelming one is its predictability. There is nothing new until one reaches midpoint, when Sullivan--with the assistance of his son--attempts to force the mafia to permit his revenge via a series of bank robberies in which he takes only mafia money. This was quite an original idea, and very intriguing, so I was doubly frustrated when the film took yet another predictable twist that effectively negated that rather large chunk of film time. The other issue here is Tom Hanks. Hanks is an extraordinary actor, and the role of a hitman seemed a unique opportunity for him to blow off the super-likeable parts for which he has become famous. But instead of doing this, Tom Hanks essentially gives a standard super-likeable Tom Hanks performance, and I found it increasingly difficult to believe him as a mob enforcer, much less to give his drive for bloody revenge any creedence. When all is said and done, what is left is a film that essentially holds you by virtue of sheer cinematic technique. THE ROAD TO PERDITION has an amazing sense of style and creates an amazing visual portrait of the era, and that--along with such performers as Jude Law--held my interest to the end. But far from "finding its heart," the film is hollow, a matter of style over substance, and I found the story obvious, the conclusion foregone, and the statement commonplace. While I did enjoy the film, I do not expect to revisit it. As for the DVD itself, it is a nice package, with the visual and aural elements extremely well done; I found the bonus material, however, as bland in content as the film itself. Now, this film has garnered many fans, and I say if you can get something out of it, more power to you, and it will be well worth the investment. But at the same time, I would suggest that you rent this one before you purchase it, for you may just as easily fall into the other catagory--in which case you'll consider THE ROAD TO PERDITION barely worth the trip.
Rating:
Summary: The long, dark road to Hell.
Review: "Road to Perdition" is a groundbreaking film directed by Sam Mendes and starring a multi-talented, A-list essemble of actors. I must admit that I am probably one of the very few females who actually enjoyed this, considering I'm seeing many negative reviews coming from females. Maybe I am just the oddball of the bunch. By the way, I pre-ordered a copy of this DVD online without even seeing it previously in theaters; I rarely ever do that. I had wanted to go to the theaters and see it, but I had missed it and decided to pre-order a copy anyway, just because of all the raved reviews from critics and other people who saw it. I'm glad to say that I made a wise choice. PLOT SUMMARY: Tom Hanks stars as Michael Sullivan, a hitman of the early 1930's who's life is turned upside down when the oldest of his two sons, Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechin), follows him on one of his "job missions" and discovers that his father's boss, Mr. Rooney's (Paul Newman), son had murdered a man. Michael Jr. is forced to keep this incident a secret, but both father Michael and son's lives are at stake when someone from Mr. Rooney's mob murders Michael's wife, Annie Sullivan (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and his younger son, Peter (Liam Aiken), when the murderer thinks he was killing Michael Jr. Now, Michael must keep his son from "taking the road to perdition" and they are off on a long journey to try and get away from Mr. Rooney and his mob. However, Mr. Rooney has a mysterious man called Maguire (Jude Law), who must track Michael and his son down to kill them. As ironic as it is, Mr. Rooney has been like a father figure to Michael for many years, and appears to love him even more than his own son, Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig), who becomes bitter with jealousy of Michael Sullivan and plots his own revenge. MY OVERALL THOUGHTS: First of all, the acting was mezmorising and all of the actors had great chemistry. Who knew Tom Hanks could play "the bad guy" and make it look natural and flawless? Paul Newman is amazing as usual, and Jude Law was wonderful in a smaller role. The supporting cast, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Daniel Craig, Liam Aiken, etc. all did great jobs as well. Hence, I think the real star of this film is Tyler Hoechin, a young unknown actor who brilliantly portrayed the tough role of Michael Jr. He was the one that needed to bring the film together, since the story is seen from Michael Jr.'s eyes, and he did a superb job. I hope to see Hoechin in future films. The dialouge and storyline were amazing. Sam Mendes did a terrific directing job. The cinematography, sets, costumes, sound, and original musicical score are all stunning and absolutely gorgeous. And when you think, "Oh--it's always raining, snowing, or it's nighttime in this film!", well that's because those weather elements help to show the emotions of the film. In my opinion, "Road to Perdition" is one of the best films of the year! There is no real flaw to it, except that it's a bit slow-paced, but you're so engrossed into the film that you hardly notice the time flying by. The question is: Is "Road to Perdition" for everyone? Well, it all depends. If you like mob films, then this is definitely for you. Also, if you like a film where father/son must struggle with their relationship, then you will probably enjoy it...at least the family element of the story. If you care for neither, then most likely, you should skip this unless you are a diehard fan of one of the actors in the film. Then you might want to check this out for their performance. But "Road to Perdition" is definitely a powerful film. It's a real "art-y film" and an "actor's film". The DVD is OK, with some good, normal bonus features like deleted scenes, an HBO presentation on the making of "Road to Perdition", a commentary track with Sam Mendes, production notes, and a photo gallery. It is available in both wide screen and full frame formats. I highly recommend "Road to Perdition". Score:
100/100
A+
Rating:
Summary: Well crafted
Review: Once again Tom Hanks gives us the dark brooding side of a character without so much dialog as emotive looks.
The film is crafted well with the framing of shots and use of washed out color to give an 'old' feel.
Absolutely worth viewing - many should condsider buying.
Rating:
Summary: Gangsters, fathers and sons
Review: Rather then taking an epical approach to gangsters such as The Godfather films or Goodfellas, Road to Perdition is an intimate, personal look at a gangster (Tom Hanks) and his son. When Michael Sullivan's son sees more then he's supposed to and finds out what his dad does for a living, Sullivan's family's in danger. When the unthinkable happens, he and his son go on the run, getting to know each other in the process. It explores their relationship, the sins of the father and his dreams of the son. It never gets too broad, remaining very close to its intimate subject. Perhaps most noteworthy is the splendid cinematography by Conrad Hall, who brilliantly brings alive the look and texture of the graphic novel it is based on. Every shot is splendidly framed and looks like the near-realistic images of the illustrated novel it comes from. He's likely to win an Oscar for his work here. While it doesn't carry with it the large scale, operatic quality of films such as The Godfather, it beautifully tells its personal tale in one of 2002's best films. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Sins Of The Father
Review: Paul Newman is among my favorite actors of all time. He rarely disappoints. For one reason or another though, I never got the chance to see The Road To Perdition, when it was in theaters in 2002. As you might imagine then, I was eager to see the film on DVD, an added incentive for me was all the Oscar buzz that surrounds the film as well. Newman plays Irish crime boss John Rooney, while Tom Hanks plays Rooney's right hand man, Michael Sullivan. Rooney sees their close relationship like a father and son. But Sullivan begins to have regrets about all that he has done over the years as a hitman. He decides that he wants his son, Michael Sullivan Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin), not to follow the sane path he did. In order to protect his family, Sullivan must betray his loyalty and honor to Rooney. Directed by Sam (American Beauty) Mendes, the film has some solid performances in it to be sure, but I don't think it is as "stunning" as some suggest. Folks cite that the film is a dark turn for Hanks. While his character is dark at times, I would say that if the part were really dark, he wouldn't have any doubts about his deeds and not want a better life for his son. Newman does a fine job as Rooney and has chemistry with Hanks. But the really breakout star of the film for me was newcomer Hoechlin. I think he deserved an Oscar nomination for his role as much as anyone else in the film. There is no doubt that Mendes is a capable director, but I wish the movie's script by David Self wasn't as perdictable as it turned out to be. I can't go any further without mentioning the cinematography of the late Conrad Hall. Perdition proved how great he was at his craft... The DVD contains an OK commentary from Mendes about the film. It also features an HBO First Look mini-documentary that's really just a piece of fluff. Production notes, a number of deleted scenes and a photo gallery top off the extras on the disc All in all, Perdition is recommended, but in the end still left me somewhat disappointed enough to only give the DVD an overall rating of just *** stars.
Rating: 
Summary: leaden bore
Review: this movie is soo bad- its incredible-- its about liars n thieves n murderers-- but they dress real nice-- wear big woolen coats---- look respectable--arent convincing as real people- are we supposed to care about these cliche ridden cardboard characters-- its a phony portentous movie over wrought poorly written badly acted-- with the greatest non actor of them all pauly newman-- with just a hint of an irish brogue there--- he doesnt want to over act i guess- dont worry paul you wont -- you cant act ! but even he knows that--- i`m sure every time he tries to get out they pull him back in !!hey hollywood-- resist the temptation !! leave him alone to his salad dressing [popcorn beer guzzling and race cars or whatever!!enuff already ! baCK TO ROAD TO NO WHERE--- some over wrought dying scenes as people you dont know and dont care about get shot-- for no good reason-- its so dumb and never gets its leaden feet off the oh so portentous ground !-- and the PORTENTOUS SWELLING music ( I KEEP USING THAT WORD PORTENTOUS CAUSE ITS REALLY PORTENTOUS I SWEAR !... you`d think you were watching the godfather or JAWS OR something-- buT it aint either one of those-- its just another bad movie- what nonsense !! give me a break
Rating:
Summary: A small gem . . .
Review: I've read a lot of screenplays and I'm rather a student of the novel-to-film adaptation process, so I know quite well there have to be differences. They're different media: A book is not a movie. Having recently read the graphic novel on which this excellent flick is based, I have to say it succeeds very well in its own right -- but there are still some things about the original I wish hadn't been changed. This is a *very* different sort of role for Tom Hanks, but he nails the revenge-driven character of Michael Sullivan very nicely. Tyler Hoechlin carries off the son pretty well, too -- but I'm very annoyed that the film-makers thought it necessary to make him unable to kill. That was a very strong, very pointed element of the boy's development in the book. Paul Newman plays the character of John Rooney/Looney differently from the novel, but he actually gives the character of the old tyrant more depth. And the photographer, played beautifully by Jude Law, was an excellent addition. Connor, however, is portrayed as a much weaker and much more ordinary person than in the book, not as the arrogant jerk Collins had in mind. Some good scenes, like the driving lesson, and Sullivan's words to the first bank manager, were indeed taken almost without change from the original story. So, while I would have done some things differently, I have to say this is a terrific piece of work, a small masterpiece. Not "minor," but simply small, a forthright, character-driven non-epic.
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