Overrated

Rating: 5/10 (8 February 2004)

I like Clint Eastwood -- as an actor, not a director. With the exception of "Unforgiven," which excels due to the sheer strength of the cast and the screenplay, Eastwood-directed films ("Absolute Power," "The Bridges Of Madison County," "Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil," "True Crime," "Blood Work") consistently fall short of the mark. His direction is plodding and impassive. He's known as one of Hollywood's fastest-working and most cost-efficient directors, and the results are apparent on screen. "Mystic River" is no exception. The story material overflows with potential, but Eastwood delivers a dull, poorly constructed and marginally acted movie that completely failed to draw me in, despite the fact that I was ready to love it, based on the rave reviews I've read. In better hands, this could have been a superb film. In Eastwood's, it's simply average. I gave it a 5.