A thrill ride, not a masterpiece

Rating: Null/10 (25 December 2002)

A lot of people seem to be bashing "The Ring" for its seemingly nonsensical, absurd plot.
These are the folks who tried to make sense out of a movie that aspires to be little more than a fun suspense experience and little else.
Not that there's anything WRONG with that. For every "Citizen Kane", there must also be a "Charlie Chan", so I'd have to say that apples need to stop being put up to oranges.
"The Ring" leans very heavily on suspension of disbelief. Yes, the premise is wacky. Yes, there's no rational, empirical reason for some of the events that transpire within it. If there were, it would take longer and probably be laughable. The point is that what is happening on the screen is happening whether you like it or not, so play along and see where it goes. After all, when we sit down to watch "Lord of the Rings", do we complain endlessly that orcs, elves and dwarves don't really exist? When we watch "Silence of the Lambs", do we debate in circles for hours how fast it would take Lecter to skin a man's face off that convincingly?
Enjoy the ride while it lasts. Not everything has a grand and glorious deep meaning.