A Conclusion Full of Bullets

Rating: 3/10 (14 June 2004)

When a movie geek sees a cast like Kevin Bacon, Lawrence Fishburne, Sean Penn, and Tim Robbins, he/she should probably be delighted in the ensuing acting. I concur after having watched this film that there was good acting. In some cases excellent acting. And the story speeds along at a nice clip..........right up to its demise. The demise of a movie that tells a gripping dramatic tale with the set-up for a perfect twist ending, and it then reveals an unbelievable and empty conclusion. And with the superstar cast it has, it is portrayed very well. And I gotta say it's puzzling when a cast like this agrees to do a movie and despite the great job they do, remain stuck in a film with dire consequences of any success because of a lame story ending. Go fish...?
I hate to spoil it for you and just tell you this lame ending (if you haven't see it). Because as I said earlier, the acting is good. And....oh well........I'll tell it to you anyway (SPOILER). A 17 year-old girl is murdered and it turns out a couple of punk kids killed her because they did not want her to tell on them for monkeying around with a gun. She swerves off to the side of the road to dodge the gun-waving idiot. The kids then beat her with a hockey stick, chasing her into the nearby woods. They then find her and shoot her to death. Nice, huh? Well the story builds this mystery, making it look like Tim Robbins killed her. And then three old friends are reunited and flashbacks of a horrible childhood experience for them. The gangster dad then has his goons hunt for his daughter's killer. And............
Can you believe it?...this great cloud of talent, of genuine portrayals, to be stuck with a bunch of farcical punks in a awkward and semi-hysterical urban homicide. A crying shame and a waste. Why didn't the director watch more of The Sixth Sense and take some notes? This movie was perfect for one of those ending. Such a waste. :-(