Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: Road to Perdition is a fine film. The direction and cinematography are good. The dialogue is convincing. The sets seem real and set the proper moods. The soundtrack tracks the events of the film. All this makes what you see feel real and believable. This is unlike other gangster movies, that make the bad guys out to be nothing but mindless thugs. There are real characters here. Paul Newman and Tom Hanks deliver their usual- excellent performances. They portray savvy gangsters who are 'trapped' in lives that they know are wrong, but endure for personal reasons. Theirs is a dirty business. They do things that are unconscionable, but also need to be practical and businesslike. The mad dogs in this movie do not fit into the system, and pay for this. The practical men who make this business work 'tragically' fall victim to their sentiments. The complexity of the characters and the lives they lead make this film far more interesting than typical good guy-bad guy films, like the Untouchables. One flaw that shows up is Hank's demise. His character gets taken far too easily for one as streetwise. They way it happens is important to the storyline of the film. It sets up tests for the major characters and caps of the story. However, they could have thought up something a little better in terms of how his character's past finally catches up with him. This is a minor flaw, and easily forgiven, as the rest of the film is so good.
Rating:
Summary: Slow movie about hope...
Review: This movie is about finding redemption. Hanks plays hitman Mike Sullivan, who knows that what he does is not going to save his soul. He is hoping his son will not follow his footsteps though. After his oldest son witnesses his fathers work, his wife and younger son are killed, although it was supposed to be his older son who was to be killed. Retribution is sought and Sullivan recruits his son to help him carry out a plan to do so. All the while, Sullian is growing closer to his son and realizing that his estrangement was due to his fear that he would grow up like himself. The movie is paced slow and it is dark. The scenery and the sets are detailed beautifully for the period and Newman and Hanks give very solid performances. There are a lot of Father son dichodomies in this movie. Four different relationships span the plot and it shows many different character reactions and behaviors. This is not to be compared with Godfather or any other mobster movie. There is not a lot of action, but there is enough. Be patient and you will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Tom Hanks Brings a 3-Star Film Up to 4 Stars.
Review: This was one of those films that I wasn't sure I wanted to watch. Being a big fan of Tom Hanks, I was afraid that he'd chosen a bad script. I was partially right. The gangster film genre isn't one I particularly like, so when I got it, I watched it with a grain of salt. The strong acting of all the actors, Hanks in particular, made this movie much better than the it would have been with other actors. I keep seeing time and time again how great an actor Hanks is, and this film was no exception. Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) is a mob hitman who goes on the run from the very mob family he's worked for since he was a kid, after his son witnesses to one of Sullivan's 'hits'. With bits of misplaced comedy throughout the film, it was hard to know exactly how to feel. The film went from scenes of machine gun violence, to humor, and back to violence. Guys, next time, go one way or the other. The excellent drama was lambasted by the humorous scenes that either precede or follow them. Remove the humor, and you've got 'Once Upon a Time in America', or better.
Rating: 
Summary: Really beautiful, not very interesting
Review: Road to Perdition has the spirit of a film noir : put a character in a bind, and then watch as he tries to get out and sinks himself further and further. There is some attraction to that kind of material. Here it is brainless, contrived, violent and ultimately uninteresting (apart from Hanks' plan to rob banks in a rather unorthodox way). Its esthetics, however, is quite colorful : it may not be a very interesting movie, but it's really beautiful. Tom Hanks, as an Irish mafia hitman, is dependable as usual. The movie is wonderfully acted, and the visuals, as Ebert says, are "a limbo of darkness, shadow, night, fearful faces half-seen, cold and snow". One could not hope more from Sam Mendes' direction (who also did American Beauty). The problem is that there is no story behind it. As we watch it, the painful truth that no one will survive this ordeal is obvious, and we only wait in apprehension for the loud bullet shots to end it.
Rating: 
Summary: Desperate to move us, but doesn't
Review: If you want an impressive and feasible mobster film try "Miller's Crossing"; this is nothing more than a wannabe of the genre. Tom Hanks plays a dull, lifeless man who is barely affected when his wife and son are slaughtered. Not that he should be all that surprised when he is, in fact, part of the mafia where things of this nature occur frequently. His surviving son doesn't show much remorse either even though we're led to think of him as a 'good' kid. By the middle of the film, while they're on the run from the bad people, we're shown the two of them bonding and some joking at the most inappropriate times and I couldn't help but to shake my head when I was apparently expected to laugh and feel. There were such ridiculous lines thrown in meant to amuse us and this was definitely not the place for them to try and be witty. Then came the ending (eventually) where I DID laugh, though obviously not the director's intention. Somehow, after enduring hours of boredom, we're expected to CARE when the father gets what he so deserves (after all he does murder for a living)and to feel sorry for his equally unfeeling son as he cries out to him? What a stale, phony and emotionally dry attempt of a film this was.
Rating: 
Summary: Toms Hanks Has done it again-Ben N. At The Movies
Review: Tom Hanks is in my opinion one of the best actors alive he has outstanding performances that make you smile, cry, or simply laugh, this movie was grand Paul Newman played a really great supporting actor as Mr. Rooney and Jude Law did okay at playing his part over well this movie is good a drama thats not worth missing has alot of action as well mixed into it
Rating:
Summary: About as enjoyable as mashing your thumb with a hammer
Review: Two hours of sheer boredom, broken only by of cold, steely violence and anguish. Get this one for the kiddies!
Rating:
Summary: Whats in this?
Review: The story - nothing great to mention. The movie - nothing special but for the photography and art - the only things to console a bit. I have a very high opinion on Tom Hanks and a serious fan. But his performance in this movie is greatly disappointing. The role requires a serious action and Tom Hanks almost struggles but for his own excellent performance in a couple of occassions. Of course, he is not the only to blame, the lose screenplay and direction are the main causes for the slack of the movie. If not for Tom Hanks, I thought the movie will pick-up sometime but never. And there are some questions unanswered in the movie. If Tom Hanks is so much trusted by his boss, why can't he just go and talk it out? Why should he run away like a coward? Don't waste your time!
Rating:
Summary: Good on paper, lackluster on film.
Review: In a seemengly endless parade of mob movies, "Road to Perdition" stands out as the most moralistic. It shows, overall, that at the heart of every mob movie, there is a heart. Though masterfully directed by American Beauty director Sam Mendes, with stunning visuals and an intellegent script, "Road to Perdition" fails on a few levels, which keeps it from being the masterpiece it might have been. Tom Hanks plays a family man who belongs to two different families, his wife and kids, and as a hitman for his "father" (Paul Newman) who is the patriarch of a poweful mob family. Things get heated when his 12 year old son witnesses a hit gone wrong, and a contract is put out on Hanks and his family. They embark on a road trip to escape the mob, save their lives, and start someting new. Hanks's motivation is at the heart of this movie- he doesn't want his son to wind up like him. While this is definitely a great idea on paper, it somewhat suffers in the execution. The characters are sadly underdeveloped, leaving little to sympathize with. The mob family loyalty was not played on as strongly as it could, and the drama was lukewarm at best, relying more on gun battles than character development. Tom Hanks and Paul Newman are excellent actors, but their performances here cannot be considered career highlights. Hanks in particular plays a wooden character, and his performance strikes me as a man who would rather be doing something else. The only real standout performance is from Jude Law, who plays a creepy hitman with a morbid obsession for photographing his victims. While I liked the idea, the movie is altogether unsatisfying, for the sole reason that it could have been so much better. The movie might not be a masterpiece, but the Commentary on the DVD is worth the price of admission. Sam Mendes gives some fun and intellegent insight into the movie, how it was made, and gives plenty of interesting anecdotes along the way. The deleted scenes are nothing special, but the "Making of" documentary is enjoyable enough. If you liked the movie, the DVD is a nice companion. While this is far from a bad film, it simply doesn't live up to it's potential. It is perhaps this reason why it didn't get much attention at the Oscars. For some, this is a good twist on the classic mob story, but next time I am in the mood I'll grab my copy of "The Godfather" instead.
Rating:
Summary: Polished, but ultimately flat, movie
Review: Certainly, there were some great intentions in the making of "Road to Perdition". Gangster movies are one of the most popular genres for the movie going public (see the "Godfather" movies and "Goodfellas" for classic examples). Throw in the nostalgia of 1930's America and cast stellar actors like Paul Newman, Tom Hanks, Jude Law and one can't help but feel that this movie should be something special. So, why isn't it? In this case, the whole of the movie is decidedly less than the sum of its parts. It's hard to pinpoint why this happens. It just happens. The overall feel of the movie doesn't carry the grand epic sweep of "Godfather", nor does it present the harsh viciousness of "Goodfellas".
The story centers around a loyal gangster named Michael Sullivan(played by Hanks) who has been nothing by a devoted servant to his mentor and benefactor, a gang boss named Rooney (played by Paul Newman). On the orders of Rooney, Sullivan (whom Rooney felt was more of a son than his own wayward offspring) and Rooney's hot-tempered son go to rough up a disgruntled former associated. While Sullivan only intends to put some fear into him, Rooney's son goes crazy and kills him, necessitating Sullivan killing the other henchmen in the room. Alas, all this was witnessed by Sullivan's older boy, Michael Jr., who stowed away in the car because he wanted to know what it was that his father really did for a living. Rooney's son decides this is unacceptable and later goes to Sullivan's house and kills his wife and younger son. Thus, to protect his only remaining son and to exact appropriate revenge against Rooney's son, and Rooney for not punishing him for that act, Sullivan takes to the road with Michael Jr.
The setup seems like it should power the remainder of an excellent story. Unfortunately, "Road to Perdition" loses its way. For big portions of the middle of the movie, it acts like it would rather be a father/son bonding movie rather than a gangster film. While such a juxtaposition has been achieved in the past (Vito and Michael Corleone come to mind), here it just feels like 'filler' until the climax of the movie is reached. It's not to say that "Road to Perdition" is a bad movie. It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination. It is quite well done. Unfortunately, it's a movie that should pack an emotional punch, but just leaves the viewer feeling flat.
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