A lot to overcome

Rating: 9/10 (9 December 2005)

Okay - this movie has its flaws. The absurd plot holes, the total disregard for physics, the annoying camera-work during action sequences - all indicate to me that this movie will be somewhere between awful and barely watchable.
However, the dialog, characterizations, plot line, subplots, acting, direction, and editing are good enough to overcome those problems. The characters engage you, the situation grips you, and the storytelling is so finely done that the flaws fade like early-morning mist over a lake.
This movie has so many flaws that I can't explain how this could happen, but the good points overcome those flaws so well that this movie is in my "top ten of all time" for sheer viewing enjoyment. As hackneyed as they are, I cry at the sad parts, and cheer at the high points.
As other reviewers have noted, this is a movie without deep thought or message. Many of the "important" aspects of movie making have been ignored, or missed badly. But, when the show starts, the audience is glued to their seats - because, without all of those fine, thought-provoking elements that others miss, this movie still entertains. And that seems to be what they wanted to do - not sell a message, not dazzle with deep thought - but simply entertain. And that, it does in a fashion that is unsurpassed.
Fine casting, great acting, one helluva story to tell - who cares if it's absurd? It's still one helluva story, and told darn well.