Too much fuss for its own good

Rating: 4/10 (24 August 2005)

I'm not being very generous with the stars here, as I'd expected much of this Oscar-winner, and it left me with a feeling that someone had edited the best bits out of my copy of the DVD. Maybe it's a genuine step forward for a Clint Eastwood movie, but the man must be about a hundred, and he's in no danger of catching up with the cutting edge of world cinema. Most of the movie plods along pleasantly enough, with shades of Shawshank in atmosphere but not a great deal to back it up. Then it rushes headlong through matters of real importance and my overall impression was somehow of cosy predictability. Given the nature of the subject matter (I won't spoil it for you, but as you may have heard the later part of the movie is not so cosy in content), this is both ironic and appalling!
Million Dollar Baby is not a bad movie, and I did enjoy it, and Hollywood can do much worse, but don't rent it thinking you're getting a film of the year.
Million Dollar Baby is also a great title for a movie, but not this one. They appear to have lifted it from either one of two pre-war features; I don't know.