Road to Perdition

Excellent, but missing something for a full rating, even if it fulfils almost everything I expected. First of all, superb actors, a precise atmosphere full of revenge and grief, and a lot of very well shot shootouts. Moreover, Sam Mendes is truly unique and his subtle and precise signature literally radiates from every shot. What disappointed me a bit was the poorly built-up finale and also, and I can't help it, the somewhat faintly outlined relationship between the killer-father and his young son, which should be the main driving force. Otherwise, though, Mendes has once again shown to be a brilliant director, and his Road to Perdition is a bleak and thrilling spectacle unparalleled in recent years. 85% (06/01/2012)

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)

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)

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)

This is comic book taking another beating. But I don't want to start with the negatives: Road to Perdition is an excellently shot film with Newman's successful music, which appropriately supports the melancholic cinematography, and which, when added together, makes for a truly dense atmosphere. Sam Mendes has traditionally been able to nicely handle conversation and action scenes (the shootout in the room is something else - I'm looking forward to Skyfall), and the actors who have come together here are all excellent and do a really good job (I even took seriously the gangster played by Tom) and... And that's where the pros end. The biggest downside is... You guessed right... The script. I wonder why filmmakers keep doing this, but even this time they only took certain things from the comics (the opening 30 minutes or so and the bank robbery), twisted or threw away the rest and added their own ideas. And what ideas those were! Like the killer Maguire - sorry Jude, he's brilliantly acted, really, but completely unnecessary. Or the farmer and his wife, the stay with them and the silly epilogue that goes with it. Bleh. And so on. It’s too bad, because such a solid gangster atmosphere shouldn't be wasted. I give three and a half stars to this. (02/21/2011)