Cookie cutter Christ-story, not what expected.

Rating: 1/10 (4 January 2000)

I went into this movie expecting a gritty drama or something about conflict of morals in a prison guard on death row. And this was reaffirmed by the fact that the director also directed Shawshank Redemption. What I got was a Stephen King-esq novel movie overflowing with lame symbolism and un-explained superpowers. In fact I know the exact point the movie turned for the worse. The first time John Coffey used his "magic healing" powers, I realized how lame this movie could be. Although I should have realized the clishe trip i was going to take when the movie opened with a flashback. This movie included most every dramatic clishe it could, including: old guy flashback, good natured guy (tom hanks) in a horrible place (the prison), and finally a christ story. But then what did you expect from Stephen King, an original story? This movie was a far cry quality wise from the excelent Shawshank Redemption, and shows that while Stephen King CAN write well a lot of times he DOES NOT. This movie was by far the worst of the christmas 99 releases. Save your money folks.