Above average, but not great.

Rating: 6/10 (5 November 1998)

While the acting is rather good, not all performances are flawless, nor matched with each other as well as they could be (see Godfather 1 and 2, Goodfella's, even Pulp Fiction for near flawless ensemble acting in films).
The film works but is a multi-derivative film, borrowing similar characters from several films and fashioning a film of fairly corny and unbelievable melodramatic moments to ultimately preach a message of hope.
While it's an entertaining film, it's not a very good film at all. It's strongest moments are borrowed from prison films as far back as 1930's Up the River which starred Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart (in his second role). While Shawshank is superior overall than some of the film it borrows from, it does not go any place other films have not already been before. While at times it borders on being brutal, it still is completely done with a rose colored glasses sensibility. Were it to more accurately portray any semblance of what the situation would be like it would be at times very difficult to watch and emotionally exhausting--which this film is not.
I am rather surprised it has received such high praise from so many. I suppose if voters would see films such as Attica, Breaker Morant, Brubaker, Cool Hand Luke, Cry Danger, The Glass House, Papillon, Pressure Point (1962), Riot in Cellblock 11, Short Eyes, and Yol for starters (films which concern men who are prisoners), they would realize how much of this film is borrowed from prior films.