Most overrated film ever.

Rating: 5/10 (28 March 2006)

When i first saw this I came away thinking it was an entertaining piece of movie making but nothing particularly special. I simply cannot understand why it features so highly in many top movie listings. Yes the story is good and has a nice happy ending. Andy is a character who is easy to identify with against the nefarious, sadistic warden. This unchallenging hackneyed dichotomy is helped by Andy's buddies vs the nasty gang who's leader is intent on a slightly different kind of relationship with Andy.
The actors all shine and it's well photographed but is simply nothing special, it certainly doesn't warrant it's apparent stellar position in film history. I think it is the most overrated film of all time, no question. It isn't even a standout in it's own genre and is way way too long in it's telling of a tale that is unoriginal and intellectually undemanding .