Excellent in Almost Every Way

Rating: 9/10 (2 April 2005)

This movie is superb all the way across the board. The performances were spot-on and even occasionally over the top, especially with the characters of Clive Owen and Bruce Willis. But, seeing as how the movie is based on a graphic novel, the performances are appropriate. The movie is a 130 minute thrill ride, shocking the viewers (who haven't read the graphic novels) roughly every 10 minutes, if not more frequently than that. My only beef is with the dialogue. Rodriguez claims that he didn't even write a script, that he just transcribed what was in Miller's graphic novels. As such, the dialogue, not always, but occasionally, can be a little cheesy or melodramatic; sometimes, graphic novel dialogue doesn't always translate well onto the big screen. Other than this, the movie is spotless.