Good but there's better

Rating: 7/10 (3 October 2017)

Whilst I respect the opinions of others and enjoy reading a variety of contrasting reviews, I find it surprising that the Shawshank Redemption has been voted the greatest film of all time.
I enjoyed watching this film and feel that the story is generally good and the cast is excellent, resulting in distinct and complex characters whilst providing an interesting insight into the mentality and inter- relationship of prisoners and guards. However, I don't feel that the story was challenging, the concept is not particularly original and borders cliché when considering other prison films, the film is, in my view, unnecessarily long and, crucially, I didn't like the ending.
I do feel that this is still a very good film, however there are other films, indeed other prison films, which are better than this one.