Good Lord! It's absolutely astounding!

Rating: Null/10 (9 March 2000)

I'm easily moved by movies, I'll admit. It doesn't take much to make me cry. But the last few scenes of this movie set me absolutely weeping. Harder than I ever have before. And, after it was over, it set me thinking: about how people can be so evil, about how painful compassion can really be, about how compassion can transform a person. This movie is THAT good.
Where to begin? After seeing this, and my all time favorite movie, Saving Private Ryan, I must say that Spielberg is the greatest director of our times. Hyperbole? Maybe, but you find me another film with the power of Schindler's list and SPR.
Liam Neeson is an acting god. Only he could've pulled this transformation off without making it seem hokey. I guess that's what made all the performances in this film so great, from Neeson, Kingsley, and Feinnes down to the slightest extra, was the lack of all the acting flourishes; all the melodramatic conventions that might have gotten an easier emotional payoff, but would have cheapened the movie. Take Feinnes. His character is evil personified, Feinnes is never over the top. The cold, emotionless look in his eyes as he kills people is chilling enough. And when an element of humanity slips into his character, Feinnes makes it believable, not added in. His character isn't a stock villain.
I'm probably running out of room. Let me just say this film pulls no punches. It shocks you, terrifies you, makes you cry in sadness and in joy, and makes you feel that most painful, unpleasant, and glorious of all emotions: compassion.