Absolutely phenomenal, a true master class. This movie manages to show viewers how the difference between good and evil is about perception

Rating: 10/10 (30 October 2012)

I had heard a lot about this movie being a 'classic' and a 'must-see' and normally that negatively impacts my view of a movie because unrealistic expectation often ruins the true quality of a movie. This movie, however, managed to surpass all my expectations.
I didn't know much concerning the story, except that it was a movie set in a prison but it's so much more than that. The major theme that became apparent to me throughout this movie was how we regard as good and evil is largely dependent on the storyteller and how he chooses to paint the heroes/villains. Convicted felons are not usually considered 'heroes' or people that you root for and want to succeed but the story is about so much more than that. The Shawshank Redemption is about hope and more importantly the struggle to maintain it, when the world is doing its best to crush it.
Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman's on-screen chemistry is amazing. There are no weak scenes, no wasted dialogue. They are the best things about the movie, they make you believe, they make you hope.