Good,but not what I expected.

Rating: 8/10 (23 January 2000)

I had the opportunity to see this film yesterday. Denzel was superb as I had already expected, but the film overall was a rocket that never exploded. What I mean is the movie had so much more potential. The film makers didn't go into enough emotion as far as the Canadians were concerned. It's like one day they just woke up and decided that he was innocent, and they were willing to relocate to prove it. Where is the backbone for this story line? We should have seen the Canadians feel more before they just picked up and move to the US. More court scenes wouldn't have hurt. Why couldn't the audience see the appeals denied time and time again. If it wasn't for Denzel being such a great actor we probably would have never been disgusted about what was happening to Hurricane Carter. When we all when we walked in the movie that Hurricane was going to be sent to prison for murders he didn't commit, and then after serving 30yrs in prison he was going to be set free, it was in between the events that was going to make this movie powerful or not, and in that sense it really didn't explode. They could have done much better filling in the blanks than the did. I wanted to walk out of the movie sobbing, but I couldn't because the movie did not bring not that I didn't expect.
Overall it was a good film, and because I am a Denzel fan I will recommend this film to family and friends, but the Rickie "hurricane" Carter story could have been much, much, much more powerful.