Good but not great

Rating: 8/10 (18 April 2004)

I wanted to like this movie. I love some of Sergio Leone's other movies and kind of expected to enjoy this, his last movie, at least as much. For some reason I had never seen more than clips of it. Leone's movies always have great atmosphere and interesting minor characters. It was a treat to see Jennifer Connelly in her 1st role, and of course it had to be her eyes that got her the part, since Leone tells at least part of his stories with the eyes. This brings up the movie's weakness, the story. I didn't think it was a compelling story, not one to spend 3+ hours on. There weren't many tense moments, unsympathetic main characters that all deserved to die if only for not cracking any good jokes or one liners, and there was none of the sweeping scope that you might expect from a Leone movie. The end was a muddy puddle that didn't make a lot of sense. I'm glad I watched this highly regarded movie, but I doubt that I will again.