A*M*A*Z*I*N*G*

Rating: 10/10 (18 January 2003)

Wow! what an amazing film. I thought "Shawshank" was brilliant but this is even better. I was transfixed for the whole 3 hours and still didn't want it to end. Frank Darabont is shaping up to be one of the greatest directors of all time and it's very strange that while this and "Shawshank" had Best Film nominations he was totally ignored as if they were great films despite his involvement rather than because of it. With Michael Clarke Duncan's inspirational performance it becomes an almost religious experience that really touches you. The rest of the cast are just as good with their more down to earth roles. Yet again Thomas Newman gives us another superb inventive score that confirms him as one of the few original composers still around. I don't mind if Darabont only ever films Stephen King stories about prison life, if their half as good as this I'll be watching them. A stunning miracle of a film. (10/10)