Sugary sentimental and unsatisfying

Rating: 1/10 (2 October 2006)

This drama has been widely vaunted as one of the best films ever made- personally I just can't see the appeal. Sure it contains very good performances by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman- but there have been other, much better screen performances by other actors. There is very little suspense or originality about the plot and nothing that hasn't been seen or done on screen a hundred times before. So why the popularity? It's a formulaic feel-good movie who's happy ending is never in doubt. Knowing that Stephen King wrote the novel on which the film was based would probably give that away anyway. As with any adaptation from book to film there are several differences between the two, though the film does, on this occasion, improve on the book.
There have been better adaptations of King novels (The Shining) and better performances by better actors, yet for some reason this film continues to be rated as better than it actually is.