Not a spiritually uplifting film

Rating: 9/10 (10 April 2013)

There have been a lot of extremely negative opinions posted on IMDb about this film, so, if like me, you've watched the film, or intend to watch it for the very first time and are still a little bemused by the amount of poor reviews on the first 1-10 pages on IMDb, perhaps a little explanation is required.
The critics loved this film, followed by heaps of praise and over-exaggerated hype on its initial release. By delving deeper, I discovered that most of the negative opinions were posted during the immediate aftermath of the film's release, mostly by very bored and disappointed movie goers who expected a lot more entertainment; a faster moving movie with an obvious plot and lots of action and BLOOD. This film doesn't quite adhere to these conditions. It's slow-paced, cinematic, sinister and brooding. After adjusting my IMDb search parameters and looking at the most recent reviews, five or more years after its initial release, I noticed a much more balanced critical opinion. People seem less disappointed and more appreciative of the film from a neutral perspective, perhaps like me.
Yes, the movie is rather long at two-and-a-half hours in total, but after it was over I felt a little disgruntled at it ending so abruptly. OK, that might just be me, but I wanted more. It's not an epic tale along the lines of The Godfather, how could it be? The plot is far less complex, the depth of acting isn't on the same level and the deeply planned long-term maliciousness of Michael Corleone is absent, but that doesn't stop the film from being a dark, sinister, negative story about a man hell-bent on getting exactly what he wants at the expense of love, family, friends and peer companionship. He's probably the most unbearable man who's ever lived, so it might be difficult for many people to relate to or sympathise with a man like that, a person so forcefully driven to do whatever he wants at the expense of everything else. How can a man achieve so much success and wield so much power and yet be so contemptuous of life? He believes in nothing except his own will.
I found the film invigorating throughout, never once getting bored or questioning any particular aspects, but neither did it make me feel good about myself, others or mankind. It did a fantastic job of reminding me that there are a lot of people out there who don't care about me or my concerns. I'm certainly not going to let this jolt of realisation provoke me into giving this film a knee-jerk 1 or 2 star review.