Just plain amazing

Rating: 10/10 (15 May 2005)

I can't believe I waited 11 years to see this film. I often saw commercials advertising the film on TNT, but never had enough interest to sit and watch until I bought the movie for my fiancée. I'm so glad I finally got to see this film. This is easily one of the greatest films of all time. I couldn't believe the outstanding job done by all of the actors. I've seen very few scripts on the level of this one, but have never seen so many strong performances from the entire cast.
Morgan Freeman is incredible as Red and narrates the action better than any other voice-over I've ever heard. I was very surprised with Tim Robbins. For some reason I still thought of him as Nuke Laloosh and never dreamed he had this kind of acting ability. The story is incredible and the dialogue keeps the entire film rolling. Two and a half hours go by like nothing. I also have to applaud William Sadler, who showed great versatility (watch Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey or Die Hard 2 to see what I mean). The film is intriguing as well as inspiring at the same time. I found myself inwardly cheering for Andy to escape from Shawshank and was even happy when he is shown emerging from the sewer tunnel. His reunion with Red is almost tearjerking. The movie managed to have a happy ending without it seeming to be another unrealistic Hollywood Ending.
This film is definitely a must-see. I have seen Braveheart, and though I thought it was fantastic it doesn't come anywhere near the power of Shawshank Redemption. I doubt another cast ensemble of incredible acting talent will ever match this one. Easily a 10 on the IMDb.com scale.