Very unoriginal

Rating: 3/10 (21 September 2006)

I have a good friend that I can discuss movies with all day. Generally we have very similar tastes and critiques. Shawshank, is the only movie we completely disagree on. This movie insulted my intelligence from the first minute. All the prison clichés are painfully represented in this one film. The Innocent lead character, the benevolent inmate friend, the evil warden, the sadistic guard, etc.. Then of course you are mesmerized by the hackneyed subplots and obligatory scenes (i.e.) the attempted rape. About the only ingredient not thrown into this proverbial soup was a football game.
This movie has some fine acting and direction, but considering its big name cast and production, the product is sophomoric at best.