Something about this movie doesn't quite add up

Rating: 6/10 (20 December 1999)

What's wrong with this movie? The acting is first rate. The direction is sure. The camera-work, particularly given the use of limited locations, is worthy. It must be the plot and characters! The whole piece is soft-centered. This in itself would not be catastrophic - one has come to expect excessive sentimentality in American movies. But the surface is soft also. These people are all one-dimensional and the story plods towards its inevitable conclusion. The only time the film "threatens" to take a real grip on the viewer is in the all-too-brief Gary Sinise scene. But then nothing happens as a result ... the Tom Hanks character has to get on with his job. Oh, really! Better than average, certainly - but one of the top 250 of all time, I don't think so!