Wasted Potential

Rating: 7/10 (1 April 1999)

If there's one thing I can't stand in a film, it's when you have the feeling that this could have been a brilliant film, but some one along the line messed it up and now it's mediocre. I find those films harder to watch than the average twelve in a dozen action flix because I hate it when potential is wasted. And that's basically the story of Meet Joe Black.
It's slow, beautiful, and in places very intense. No special effects apart from some fireworks (I think that is worth a special mention these days), long studies of the emotions that play over the faces of the main characters. But it just doesn't make it really good. The long pauses have you grip your seat in frustration, the subplot involving a hostile take-over is just plain silly and messes up the main plot too much, and finally and most importantly the lines of Death are just not well thought out.
For some one who has looked at mankind since the beginning, he is surprisingly stupid. But if the plot requires, suddenly Death has the insight of ages again. I can imagine him marveling at new experiences such as taste and having a human body with tons of hormones running wild in it, but the script has him react like a total moron half of the time.
I can see why my friends, and so many other viewers liked it. But I left this film utterly frustrated and gave it a harsh verdict for not making what could have been a great film.