Product: All the King's Men [Blu-ray] (2007)
Rating: 3.0
"King's Men" loses potential punch in lots of ways
Ehh!....that's how I feel about "All the King's Men"....ehh! Based on the exploits of the real-life Gov. Huey Long of Louisiana in the person of Willie Stark as "interpreted" by Sean Penn and written AND directed by Steve Zaillian (and that is where I see the problem in this film; Zaillian who wroteSchindler's List (Widescreen Edition),AwakeningsandGangs of New York (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)maybe should have stepped away!!!)A great cast of actors, very miscast, a wandering screenplay, uneven direction, a film badly in need of a dialogue coach...what else? This film seemed as if it aspired to greatness, but alas I was left ultimately flat after 128 minutes. Sean Penn was overbaked and Winslet and Ruffalo undercooked. Clarkson-spot-on as she always is, but not much of a part! Hopkins as a Louisiana Judge????????Set designer, Patrizia Brandenstein (Amadeus - Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)), does expert work, only to have it choked out by ton's of closeups. What a waste!Even the extras on the DVD did nothing to really spark my enthusiasm any more than the film tried to do. Filmed on location? Big deal when you hardly see any of it! Truly, a film with lots of rhetoric with no real punch. Hmmm....just like politicians!James Horner soundtrack was better than this film was.