Not as awful as everyone says, but...

Rating: 4/10 (8 June 2010)

I've seen this movie several times, and while I'm a Stephen King fan, it does rely a little too heavily on the "large hulking slow-witted man as Christ" motif. I'm reminded of Richard Wright's Native Son and the Joe Christmas (John Coffey) (Jesus Christ) character, who meets a fate similar to Coffey.
Once the Coffey/Christ analogy is even hinted at, the end of the movie is inevitable. Weird ending, too. Individual performances are solid if undistinguished. Brutal, played by one of my favorite actors, David Morse, has that slightly sinister vibe going on. Tom Hanks, as much as I like him, doesn't convince me as a deep-Southern prison guard.
All in all, a movie to see once, maybe twice, but not worthy of a night on AMC.