Rating: 
Summary: Road to Perdition (2002)
Review: Director: Sam Mendes
Cast: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Tyler Hoechlin, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stanley Tucci, Daniel Graig.
Running Time: 117 minutes.
Rated R for violence and language.Director Sam Mendes has the extraordinary talent of weaving stories on film that can be used on many different levels. His first main feature, "American Beauty" was an exhilerating tale that on one level was a satire of surban life, while also a dark, melancholic depection of the meaning of life and how beautiful each small essence of it can be. "Road to Perdition", his next feature, has a simlar tone to it and is a film that is layered similar to an onion. Tom Hanks is good (yes, only good--his efforts in films such as "Apollo 13", "Castaway", and "The Green Mile" were slightly better) as a gangster who works for one of the most powerful (and crooked) men in the city (played by Paul Newman in a limited role, unfortunately). When his son (Tyler Hoechlin) witnesses an accidental murder of one of his father's colleagues, the duo must leave town in order to survive the aftermath of the ordeal. Jude Law gives a great performance as the eerie photographer who is hired to not only track down the father and son, but kill them because of the information they are not supposed to know. "Road to Perdition" is a powerful tale that captures the essence of the extraordinary possibilites presented in a father-son bond. It is a film that shows the corruptness of the business world at the time (the film was depicted around the time of the depression), but ultimately unfolds as a journey about vengeance, redemption, and love. Although not as superb as some critics may have claimed, it is still a motion picture that will satisfy fans of Hanks and Mendes, although those who are anticipating a powerhouse role from the aging Newman will be disappointed--he is not as integral part of the film as you would think. The finale is exceptional.
Rating: 
Summary: Sad but moving movie!
Review: "Road To Perdition" stars Tom Hanks and Paul Newman in a really dark and absolutely dramatic story that takes place in the year 1931. Michael Sullivan is a Prohibition-era gangster who secretly robs banks and extorts money from rival gangsters but then when his son Michael Jr. finds out about it, he and Jr. are on the run from a renegade killer who is targeting them. The movie is absolutely depressing but really emotional and deep. The ending is depressing like few movie's I've ever seen. Paul Newman and Tom Hanks are at their best in many years in RTP.
Get this movie as soon as you can because it's worth every penny!
Rating: 
Summary: Road to Perdition
Review: Wow, is THE ROAD TO PERDITION a slow moving movie. Deliberate, ponderous, lugubrious. Take your pick, this is one slow flick.
It's 1931 and Tom Hanks plays Chicago hit-man Mike Sullivan, The Angel of Death, and surrogate son to mob boss John Rooney (Paul Newman.) When Sullivan's son Mike Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) observes his father and Rooney's son Connor (Daniel Craig) bump off a clutch of gangsters everything changes. Connor, motivated by a mixture of sibling jealousy and a need to keep the killings a secret, decides to wipe out the Sullivan family. He succeeds in murdering Sullivan's wife and youngest son, but misses Mike and Mike Jr. The surviving Sullivans escape and embark on a journey of revenge and survival.
THE ROAD TO PERDITION was taken from an illustrated novel, and I understand the filmmakers responsibility to the source material, but I would have dropped the kid and abandoned the notion of telling the story of the son's point of view. At this point in Hanks' career it's difficult enough to accept him as a physically imposing, inarticulate brute. Viewing him through the eyes of his emotionally distant son doesn't help. Hanks is an incredible actor, but he's also a movie star cast against type in this one. The story doesn't allow him the opportunity to convince us of his character.
It looks great. Cinematographer Conrad Hall is a genius, especially when it comes to filming rain. The sets are gorgeous, the feeling of depression-era America is well captured. Unfortunately the movie takes forever to sprout wings, and even then it doesn't fly. The wonderful Jennifer Jason Leigh is barely seen and largely wasted as Sullivan's wife. There's are whole scenes that go nowhere in particular (the wake scene, for instance) and seem intended to do nothing more than establish atmosphere.
I could go on, but I'll simply say that considering the talent involved this was a big disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: A real world "buddy picture"
Review: Real world? I think so, in many ways. One of my favorite Bible verses is "Be sure your sins will find you out." We cannot escape some form of retribution, either in this world or the next, and this film faces this idea squarely. A man, a good man, a family man, and also probably a murderer several times over, an arm breaker and enforcer and a father of two boys, is forced to run for his life from his old boss, and take his young son with him. He is alone, cut off, and has only his wits and a Model A Ford and a Thompson submachine gun to see him through. And he has his son. I think it's a marvelous lens through which to look at many things that are both very human and very American at the same time. The movie is absolutely studded and glistening with wonderful performances. Paul Newman and Tom Hanks together? Fugeddaboutit. It doesn't get any better than that. Hanks' deep Catholic faith is juxtaposed with his ingrained warlike nature - call it hypocrisy if you must, but there are those who understand completely the forces at work in that symbiotic relationship. I couldn't bear the ending, and thought it was forced and didn't seem "real" to me, so I had to dock it a star. Perhaps I just wanted something I didn't get, and I'm miffed. I don't know. But this is a wonderful, beautiful film, and one that everyone involved can be very proud of. It isn't "The Godfather", but it shows you what that world was like, several rungs down the ladder from the big bosses, and how life and death came and went in that world, and how it's isn't always easy to characterize someone as "good" or "bad".
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Movie
Review: Tom Hanks is fantastic in this movie and the acting is superb by all. The action is great, and the music score adds to make this movie one of the best!
Rating:
Summary: One Hell Of A Movie!
Review: Whenever two great actors such as Tom Hanks and Paul Newman join forces in a film, you can bet it'll make one hell of a movie! I own this great movie and you should as well, if you don't already!
Rating:
Summary: Not simple entertainment!
Review: Although the movie has all attributes of typical 'gangster' movies it seems like it has much more than this. It is quite dark with slowly developing plot but that doesn't seem somehow annoying. Tom Hanks brilliantly (as usual) portrays a killer that is forced to fight against people, to whom he was dedicated for many years, to defend his family. I don't normally like Paul Newman as an actor but in this movie he is totaly natural playing a kind of godfather, whose love for his son is stronger than any other considerations and who is torn because of this. The movie is directed by Sam Mendes, who directed "American Beauty', his first feature film. His second film is totally different but is in the same league (which is to say that it is as good as the first one).
Rating:
Summary: Fathers and Sons
Review: Road to Perdition, (2002; running time 1 hour, 57 minutes) was directed by Sam Mendes for DreamWorks, LLC and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Road to Perdition stars Academy Award winning actors, Tom Hanks and Paul Newman; Academy Award nominee Jude Law; and newcomer Tyler Hoechlin. Although set around gangster life in the 1930's Depression era in and near Chicago, the central theme of this film is fathers and sons, loyalty and duty.
John Rooney (Paul Newman) is the Godfather in Pullman, Illinois, a town near Chicago. Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) works for John Rooney and has a strong personal relationship with him, as well as loyal and trusted professional relationship. This close relationship causes jealous feelings to arise in John Rooney's son, Conner (Daniel Craig). Conner's subsequent actions start a string of events that finds Michael Sullivan and his son, Michael Sullivan, Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin), alone and on the run.
Fittingly, the Sullivans make their escape to Perdition, where Michael Sullivan's sister-in-law lives, only to discover that they are being hunted down by hit man/crime scene photographer Merlin Maguire (Jude Law). Now that Michael, Jr. is all Michael Sullivan has left, he knows that he must avenge the tragedy that has left them alone and do whatever it takes to save his son. Michael Sullivan does not want his son to follow in his footsteps and will do anything to keep him off the "road to hell" that he has been traveling, ironically the "Road to Perdition".
The other father in this film is John Rooney, who is appalled and angered by the tragedy of events brought about by his son, Conner. However, his son's life is also now in danger and his love for his son compels him to do what he can to protect and save him. Thus the movie explores two fathers who must do whatever it takes to save the lives of their sons.
This drama, filled with betrayal, murder and tragedy, is filmed in color and is rated R for language and violence. The soundtrack is available through Decca and UMG Soundtracks. This film is rated four stars (****). Although slow in a few places, this is a poignant story of the love two men have for their sons and what they will do to protect and save them. Especially moving and unforgettable is the bond that forms between the Sullivans while on the Road to Perdition.
Rating: 
Summary: Great mood in this one!
Review: I think the appeal here is that I've seen the graphic novel of this movie, and I like Tom Hanks. The mood was a little retro, a little dark, and Hanks definitely knows how to put some emotion and sympathy into a performance. If you like dark stories, or even if you just like Hanks, give this one a try.
Rating: 
Summary: 1 star is too much
Review: This film had so much potential but it just didn't come across well enough to be believable.
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