a much over raided as well as over rated movie

Rating: Null/10 (25 November 2002)

no doubt about it....a must see movie....but once thompson gets to the thacker memorial it slows to a crawl and the whole business about the newspaper business is borrrrring....in fact the movie does not pick up again until xanadu and the marraige to susan alexander but then it is just as advertised terrific.....and the opening images leading to the light in the castle (no wonder that welles wanted to film kafka's castle rather than the trial) are as ballyhooed, just the greatest beginning of any movie ever made or ever likely to be made.................they, the wonderful bass horror music to kick things off, most of the march of time, though its about 3 minutes too long and the superb newsroom scene, absolutely seminal stuff.... very seductive and, in fact, my guess is so overwheliming good that lots a folks get sucked into the rest of most of what follows just like chickens following a trail of grain................. but.....i would not even rank it as one of the 20 best movies.... it ultimately is too shallow....but what a beginning...and what an ending, absolutely fabulous....and the xanadu stuff with susan is when it really comes alive.......