Disappointing...

Rating: 7/10 (31 October 1999)

"American History X" was a good, entertaining movie. That's what's so disappointing about it. It could have been a *great* movie, but it turned out to be merely a decent one. I wouldn't be saying this if I hadn't really liked the picture. There was some real potential in this film, and the potential was never realized. Roger Ebert sums up my views very well in his review. It's always rather painful to see a movie that "wants to take off and soar" end up sitting on the ground (albeit sitting very well). I also agree with Ebert that the fault was mainly in the direction. If the movie had a great director, it would have been a great film. As it stands, it had a decent director, so it turned out to be a decent film. 7/10.