Superb prison buddy story - but sadly unimportant film

Rating: 9/10 (13 August 2006)

If you simply see this as a straightforward storytelling prison film, then it is excellent (10/10) because it truly gets you involved in its main character. It is an extremely enjoyable and compelling experience with a heartfelt and well-acted buddy-story at its core. It delicately--and sometimes brutally--juxtaposes Andy Dufresne's (Tim Robbins) good-natured character with the harshness of prison life, projecting so much heart in doing so.
However delightful as it is, The Shawshank Redemption has no allegories and no statements to make and it brought nothing new to cinema in either style or substance. It had no revolutionary ideas or approaches - it's only a very safe buddy-story. A damn good one, but still just that. So it can impossibly be a film that will be remembered or studied, because what will it be remembered for? Friendship? Huh, neat. I therefore don't think it's entirely deserving of being considered the #2 greatest film of all time on IMDb.com.
But moving on and looking past that, it is possibly one of my all-time favourite films for the feelings it leaves. Sure, it often jerks you for tears just a bit too purposely, but this is forgivable because emotion is crucial to a prison story. On top of that, it never falls prey to predictable sappiness - probably because of its content which is devoid of sentimental romance and instead fills you up with a tragic friendship. It is so well-sewn together by a feel-good narrative by Morgon Freeman that it is impossible not to enjoy this film.
9/10