Johnny Cash deserves a better film.

Rating: 3/10 (6 June 2006)

The moment I looked at an exterior street setup with beautiful 1950s picture cars, each looking brand new without a speck of dust on it, I knew I was in for a poorly thought-out run of the mill biopic. From scenes of his all-string trio with a phantom drummer on the soundtrack to the dubious audience interaction at Folsom prison, the filmmakers aim low and mostly achieve their aim. The script takes needless liberties with the facts, presumably to "dummy down" a complex and interesting life story. For instance, Johnny Cash was a successful amateur musician long before he met Sam Phillips, not the unskilled beginner the film depicts. This is an insult to the audience. The second half devolves into an addiction story but deprives us of the "come to Jesus" moment that may have led to his recovery. And whatever became of his first wife and daughters? And so on.