Theatrically beautiful, yet thematically shallow

Rating: 1/10 (19 July 2009)

When I searched amongst the endless lists of reviews given about this movie, I had not found one that gave it less than 7 stars. In order to truly see a movie for what it is, one must look past all that makes it great into its minor flaws and weaknesses. If you (the reader) were drawn to this review because of the low rating, well I am sorry but I have mislead you. However, I have also led you to something greater and different from the rest of the reviews for this film.
To get to the point, Shawshank Redemption is magnificently made and deserves incredible amounts of praise for its entertainment value and perspective on life in prison. However, the themes of the film are rather shallow. The entire theme can be summarized in a short sentence: Friendship and hope can get you through almost anything. Although it is a great message, it is simply a nugget of what could have been much greater.
Now I know that I have only given the film 1 star here, but that was only to draw attention so that you may finally see that this film, although superb, is not perfect by any means as is suggested by the vast quantity of perfect reviews. In all honesty I would give it nine stars out of ten and would encourage everybody to see it.
Great, not perfect, but after all, where can true perfection honestly be found?