Road to Perdition

Filmed based on the successful comic book series by Max Allan Collins. Sam Mendes aroused such expectations among critics and fans with his American Beauty that he would not be able to satisfy them no matter how hard he tried. From my perspective and after sober consideration, I prefer Road to Perdition. Clearly, in terms of material selection, it was an obvious bet on certainty, but with American Beauty, that calculation was also, albeit more sophisticated. Mendes' gangster film is a compact film in every aspect, with perfect camera work, a strong story, and charismatic characters. Comparing Road to Perdition to what I've seen in the past year, I have no choice but to raise my rating to five stars. Overall impression 90%. (06/14/2006)

Road to Perdition is another film with my favorite theme. As Lord Vetinari used to say, if we can't eradicate crime, at least make it organized. The film had a great atmosphere, Tom Hanks' performance was excellent as usual, Jude Law was as pleasant as a bucket of slime and Paul Newman gave as fine a performance as Tom Hanks, as expected. I have only two gripes. It was crystal clear how it was going to end. I’m also not sure how it was possible that after the bullet hit the window, blood splattered the glass, but the projectile somehow mysteriously disappeared. (07/21/2017)

Consumed with sentiment, pathos, and seriousness until my monitor cracked. Mendes is still the devil, yes. Scenes like the final showdown are absolutely fabulous. I didn't mind the Hanks stuff either. However, overall, I don't like the combination of a gangster movie with a tragic drama about discovering a relationship with your son. As long as it stays within the confines of a mafia movie, it's a fantasy. However, once the film moves into the "I had a nightmare" "Do you want to talk about it?" stages, it's bad. Because that sentiment is a little bit tacky in this movie. (02/05/2010)

Or: How Even the Most Direct Road to Perdition Can Lead to Movie Perfection. A visually indescribably atmospheric watch. Precise acting, perfect camerawork and faultless and inventive directing. Sam Mendes filmed so far the most faithful adaptation of a comic book to come to the movie screen so far. Although the storyline is simple, that’s where its strength lies. It could be criticized for being a wonderful shiny load of nothing about father and son finding a way to each other, but that’s not the feeling I get from this. Quite the contrary, for one thing, the scene in the rain is now in my top ten best scenes ever. It just has everything. From emotions, through marvelous production design, immense atmosphere to the actors. And the entire movie is like that, just perhaps not so intense all the while. And that’s pretty good, don’t you think? (02/04/2007)

The best film of Sam Mendes and an absolute top in the gangster genre. The atypical casting of Hanks as a dark hero is an ideal counterpart to Newman's tragic boss, and his journey, fearlessly mowing down enemies led by perfectly slimy Law, is additionally captured by an amazing camera (see the unforgettable arrival in Chicago) and supported by impressive music. An underrated film. (12/19/2005)