It was an ok movie nothing great!

Rating: 7/10 (10 May 2004)

Well I came into this movie with very little expectations and knowledge over the basic plot. Unlike the other movies which were heavily promoted this one came in with a little hype and fanfare.
I was rather surprised that they would actually pair up the talented Denzel Washington with the promising Dakota Fanning. But it was quite a pleasant team up.
I feel that Fanning has continued to grow as an actress ever since I first saw her in an episode of CSI.
Denzel being Denzel as usual chose a rather dark character torn by his past and present obligations. At first your see a no nonsense all business man with hints of hurt because of his past. The he becomes a warmer person as he bonds with his ward. Soon of curse we see him change again to this intense and ruthless man bent on revenge. That's what's so good about Denzel is that he is able to easily convert form one character trait to another. I just wish that he would try to get other roles and quit with all this dark characters.
I actually found the choreography good at times especially in flashbacks.

I did however found the subtitles a little distracting especially when they would jump up in the middle of a conversation.
Also there were quite a few characters which I felt was rather unimportant and were placed in there just to fill in some minutes. Walken's role a fine example of such a character.
The score was okay but the acapela female voices were not that effective relative to Ridley Scott's Gladiator.
Overall it was a good film from director Ridley Scott. Pretty much worth your money