I just recently saw American Beauty and I thought it was the finest film ever made. So, naturally, I decided to see this too. Being a Tom Hanks fan had something to do with it as well. Before I saw it, I thought, "How could this be better than American Beauty? It's not possible." So I didn't expect it to be. And I was right. It's not as good, but it is still incredible. It is different than other mob films. It has a moral. And Tom Hanks is, as usual, terrific. Likewise with Newman. A definite keeper. Mendes does it again.… Expand

It's truly a great film.

Oustanding.

While not as good as American Beauty, it is still a powerhouse of a film from beginning to end. I'm not sure if I would rate this the best movie of the year over Minority Report, but it's certainly one of the two best of the year so far.

Critics who compare "Perdition" to "The Godfather" are doing so only on grounds of subject matter; in truth, "Perdition" is first and foremost a love story between father and son. Tom Hanks and Paul Newman are brilliant as always, but I confess I was most impressed with Jude Law, who proves he is the best up-and-coming actor working today. An excellent combination of pathos, emotion, drama, irony, and truth. Highly recommendable. … Expand

It's beautiful, just plain beautiful.

[***PLOT REVELATIONS***] One of the best gangster films ever made; it has all the best qualities to a movie = great writing, direction and a cast that will blow you away! I cannot stress on how much of an outstanding movie this is. It is just so great! It is a great movie about organized crime, and the kill scenes are nicely directed. The story is about a very talented hitman called ';The Angel of Death' (Tom Hanks) who was adopted by a mean old crime boss John Rooney (Paul Newman - In his Academy Award nominated performance) at a very young age. Since John treats Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks - a.k.a. The Angel of Death) as his favorite son, John's real son Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig) gets very jealous and tries to have some business man secretly (without his father's consent) kill Michael. Well, that doesn't go as well as planned, and Michael ends up killing the business man and some of his associates. But, Michael's family isn't so lucky, when Connor himself kills Michael's wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and youngest son, leaving Michael only with his oldest son, Michael Sullivan, Jr. Since John must kill Michael in order for him to protect Connor, Michael and his son hit the road to Chicago to hide out. In Chicago, John has everyone looking for Michael including Frank Nitti, Al Capeone and a warped hitman named Maguire (Jude Law) who poses as a reporter, takes pictures of his victims, and wears a 'Charlie Chaplin'/'Malcolm McDowell in Clockwork Orange' hat. The movie really moves along quickly and isn't slow at all. The story is really interesting, but the movie only got 1 major Academy Award Nomination. It should have been nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor - Tom Hanks and Best Director - Sam Mendes, instead of just Paul Newman getting nominated. This film is all around excellence, but isn't as good as Mendes' first feature 'American Beauty'. 22 February 2003.… Expand

Look everyone that doesn't give this a 9 or higher is smoking some serious crack. This is one of the best films ever. If you love Mob movies you will love this movie. It's right up their with the godfather and scarface. That's all I have to say, people that i see that gave this a 4 or lower or any low score, you people probably sit home and watch movies like the ya-ya sisterhood type movies. I'm finished here. Go see the movie and i'm talking to ones that have good taste.… Expand

This film deserves all the accolades it recieves. There is not a weak performance in the film. Newman, Law and Hanks are terrific.

Saw this movie when it was in theaters and enjoyed it immensely. I don't understand how it got a 74. IMHO, it's better than director Sam Mendes' previous movie, American Beauty.

Amazing, it was nominated for 7 academy awards. but it was missing from the most important category, BEST PICTURE! it was strongly underrated, this is one of the best gangter films i've seen, great acting, perfect cinematography, a masterpeice!

Once again, Sam Mendes manages to successfully craft a truly powerful drama with "Road To Perdition". The movie cohesively blends together very deep and moving themes that explore the repercussions of violence, the relationships between fathers and sons, and the path to vengeance. With incredible performances from Tom Hanks and Paul Newman, an awesome soundtrack by Thomas Newman, and stunning camerawork by Conrad L. Hall, "Road To Perdition" remains, in short, superlative.… Expand

At first, I had never heard of this movie until just last year. And after watching it for the first time ever, I got to say, this was magnificently triumphant in everyway possible. I just don't understand why I had never heard of this movie before. This movie truly is underrated. Anyway, this movie has some tremendous acting from Tom Hanks, Tyler Hoechlin, Paul Newman, etc. But I was really surprised to see Daniel Craig (James Bond). He was fantastic playing Connor Rooney. Plus, I never really say this about a movie, but it really has some tremendous cinematography. Conrad L. Hall really knows how to get the perfect shots. Also, the storyline is exciting and captivating. It really keeps you interesting. Finally I have to say that Thomas Newman's original score is breathtaking. I mean, he's done some amazing music for other movies such as "Shawshank Redemption", "Finding Nemo", "WALL-E" and even "Green Mile". He really knows how to set the tone of the story. Overall, it's a fantastic gangster movie that needs to be more well known.… Expand

A very good movie. Hanks, Newman and Law all turn in great performances. The (unknown to me anyway) child actors do a fine job as well, which is rarely the case with young actors such as these. I will admit, the bank robbery of all the dirty money was, perhaps, a little "thin" on the believability scale, but that is only a slight criticism in the wake of a very good movie. Mendes is could quit now, and already he has accomplished more than 90% of the directors out there. Kudos.… Expand

It's no godfather, but it is a touching movie, one of the best in years.

This rain-drenched movie is not only a spectacularly entertaining adventure, but also a deep story of a father and son, working in unison for a common cause. The cinematography is amazing and the story is the same. Hanks serves up another Oscar-worthy performance in a surprisingly downbeat role. This film is creative and dramatic and lags on no levels. The acting is fabulous and the dreary atmosphere only excentuates the character's yearning for revenge and the longing he now feels as a result of his profession. This is powerful film making and is, by far, one of the best films of 2002.… Expand

A brilliant film, actors are very good. A very simple movie, but very stylised also. It's realy a great film.

Just missed being perfect.

Great performances (give the oscar to Paul Newman NOW!) and beautiful cinematogrophy! But, it's not really a Capone-film and it goes more to the drama way. But the soundtrack en the director brings everything in it's wright order! Sam Mendes' suprising movie is excellent!

An excellent film. The use of contrasting levels of sound throughout the film really heightens the drama in the shoot-em-up sequences. Hanks hasn't been this good since "Philadelphia," and Newman's role is understated and well-executed. Sam Mendes is clearly a solid 2 for 2 after this one. I have a feeling when he hangs 'em up, he'll be right up there with the greats. Oh, and I appreciated his use of the Uroboros. … Expand

This is high quality stuff. I think Mendes shows his hand a bit to much with the opening shot (wouldn't it have been nice to just use sound there) and the movie feels a touch slow pacing wise, but overall the words are strong, the acting is strong, and the cinematography and sound are spectacular. This is a director using all that film has to offer to compose a quality picture with humanity and a touch of grace. Well done by everyone.… Expand

This movie was near perfect. My complaints are in the failure to develop three characters: Jude Law, Hanks's wife, and Connor Rooney. These failures are forgiveable in that the movie is certainly among the best of the recent past and certainly will be a major Oscar contender. Just wished for another 30 minutes to figure out what was going through those 3 characters' heads.

A solid, beautiful movie about fathers and sons. I agree with the choice to show the son at the beginning--it took away the tension anyone would have about his fate, and allowed the focus to shift to the events and relationships on the way. No scene was wasted (although the robbing banks was a tad thin), and one of my few complaints is the short-changed development between John and Conner; I wish there had been some parallel between Michael and young Michael--some of that fear of the son growing up to be the father. I would complain of the lack of strong women, but the only thing I'll say is that I wish they had cast a lesser known actress for the wife, so that viewers are less dissapointed in the one-dimensional role. I do wish that the wife had had a deeper role, but of all the sacrifices to make, that was probably a reasonable one. The bits of narration at the beginning and end could've been revised and, at the end, perhaps left out entirely; especially at the end it felt redundant and slightly hokey--something I would expect from a lesser movie. The performances were all strong and subtle, and the cinematography lovely. The end was predictable, but it felt sadly inevitable rather than cheap--it came off as hopeful, but not innocent. … Expand

Just came back from seeing the movie. It was suspenseful and absolutely brilliant. Tom Hanks and Paul Newman were simply great. The cinematography was breathtaking. Sam Mendes is starting to look like a superstar of a director. Kudos to all.

It's a very very, almost excellent film. What keeps the film from being as good as it should've been is the fact that it wasn't long enough, like 30mins. too short. There's nothing I would've cut out but there needed to be more scenes that really gave the charaters more depth, more development. I also felt that, call me insane, none of the actors had a scene where they could really SHINE. If they added those last 30mins., then this would be probably the best mob movie, short of Godfathers Part 1 and II of course. It's totally different from most, if not, all past mob movies. If I had to compare it, I'd compare it to Miller's Crossing meets The Shawshank Redemption. Great musical score by the genious, Thomas Newman. Brilliantly filmed and well written. If only there was just more, I didn't want it to end. More Tucci, more Hanks, more Newman, more Hoechlin, more Baker, more Jennifer Jason Leigh, more everything. It's is not a slow movie by the way. … Expand

Beautifully shot; I love the way the images almost match the cells in the graphic novel on which it

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A very underrated film. Tom Hanks was the perfect actor for the role. It was a little hard taking him seriously after Forrest Gump. Anyway, the acting was excellent by Jude Law, Paul Newman, Daniel Craig and the rest of them. Great cast too. And because the acting is good so is the directing. My favorite scene was when Tom Hanks took out Paul Newman. Very emotional, especially with the silence. This film also tests your morals and values. Making you think, if you have a farther like Michael Sullivan, is he a good man? Your response might be, "well, he was my farther". Which is not the response I would give. A murderer is a murderer no matter who he is to you. In conclusion, Michael Sullivan was not a good man, no matter how much money he gives to the elderly. Although the message is not a responsible one it doesn't affect the rating of the movie. I didn't forget about the cinematography. The film was very well filmed. Loved the lightning. it gives it a more classic feel to the astonishing master piece. There's also something at the end that I wasn't expecting. If you haven't seen this film, go see it know. If you love great films you won't be disappointed.… Expand

With this movie sam mendes proves that "american beauty"wasn't a fluke.to be frank though,this is not as good as his debut feature,but still he's the most talented director to come out of britain or anywhere else in recent years.hanks proves yet again why he's one of the most talented actors in hollywood and newman proves why he's such an acting legend.both newman and hanks are excellent,specially newman but if there's anyone wo deserves an award for this film its conrad hall,the cinematographer,whose cinematography is simply breathtaking.jude law and tyler hoechlin and the rest of the supporting cast lend strong support though a gifted and talented actress like jennifer jason leigh is grossly wasted.i'll be waiting with great anticipation for mendes's next film which could be 3 years away.… Expand