elshikh4
This one got me saying; not all the famous movies are great, and not all the great movies are famous.At first I thought my eyes doing me tricks when I read in the TV guide that "this is a comedy" starring "Rod Steiger". To the best of my knowledge at the time the 2 words, "comedy" and "Steiger", can't be put together anytime. But they were. And it was so right time.You'll never remember the low budget, and the un-great performance of some of the supporting actors, because the whole thing is rich. The set of Kallin's prison is so expressive. This type of (Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari – 1920) wasn't usually seen in American movies since epochs, so how about using it in a comedy. The editing kept a brisk character for the movie while not sacrificing the serious parts. The performance of Steiger is flawless. The direction did a perfect job, having a crazy sense of humor and an accurate taste to balance the work; making a kind of first "guilty superhero" movie, a wonderful black comedy, and a shrewd vision about the value of justice not in today's societies but in general.It managed to show maybe all the colors of justice. The politicians' one (corrupted as them, executing their dirty hidden aims, needing a real one to fix things up), the businessmen's one (as the same as the politicians', a subjective tool to terminate competitors for purely materialistic aims), and the religious vigilante's one, however it can be deranged and unfair. As you see, there is no complete justice. And that's the best meaning this movie could say. It showed brilliantly that justice is, and always will be, as imperfect as the human being is and will always be, no matter what degree of honesty he could reach. Which leads us to that script. It's one memorable victory. Not for achieving all of the above smartly, but for shaping it as a catchy, fast-pacing, movie; that has : new, mysteries and attractive hero, tight plot, bittersweet short lines, hot unpredictable events, rescue in the nick of time, a twist at the end, and a meaningfully sarcastic finale. That's something which by watching many movies you'll get how rare it is.(Rod Steiger) was magnificent. He played his character as a mix of lunatic judge, the last righteous man on earth, a wounded husband and father, and a bizarre comic superhero all in the same time, I just hated his wig! (Heather Graham) was a delicious eye candy, oh my god she was SO SEXY!, and – surprisingly – a good actress as well, who delivered a nice performance. Choosing (Isaac Hayes) was a masterstroke; he portrayed (Aloysius) as a man in the middle of being a kindhearted priest and a terrifying retarded, his walk reminded me of Dracula's minion. (Zelda Rubinstein) was a fine point for the benefit of the casting; she's always funny and weird; exactly like this movie is! I never liked (Lauren Hutton), though the movie uses her abominable presence well. The actors who did the roles of the politician and the heroine's boyfriend were less forceful, and suffered from being lackluster amongst this celebration of charisma around them. There are small touches that dazzled me along the way; such as the design of the electric chair, the sudden appearances – or nearly crashes – of Kallin totally unexpectedly, his hilarious lines being delivered so seriously "what kind of monster you think I am ?!" (talking about killing a prisoner earlier rather than putting him with another in one cell !), and overall how this movie merged every smile with a jolt.Despite being unheard of, I'm sure it'll win the rank of classic over the years, deserving it best. Here's a movie that refutes the Hollywood term "big". Because it could defeat many of their so-called "big" blockbusters, fulfilling being deep and enjoyable in the same time. Now to all the Hollywood community "size does not matter", cinematically speaking of course ! It can't be prettier with that wicked satirical finale in which all the idealistic and well-meaning minions work under the authority of a new justice-executer/the immoral businesswomen. It's more than clear what side the movie refers to concerning who really defines the justice in America of today!
Tom DeFelice
This is a strange film. It is a black satire that reminds me of a cross between Roger Corman's "Black Scorpion", Wes Craven's "Swamp Thing" and Alfred Hitchcock's "Family Plot". The casting is eclectic with Rod Steiger, Lauren Hutton, Heather Graham, Isaac Hayes and Zelda Rubinsten and deserves an A. The acting, however, is uneven and gets a B. The story (we've been here before) is a C. Not much of the budget is on the screen. With better production values it would have been a very interesting movie. As it is, the production values gets only a D.The look of the film is that of a poor man's direct-to-video. That's too bad. With more texture to cover the obvious staleness of the story (ex: Tim Burton's "Batman") this could have been a remarkable film. Still, it's worth a look even if it never reaches it's potential. I don't know if you can blame the budget or the director, but it just misses. Still, certain moments do transcend the film's problems. Rod Steiger, Isaac Hayes and Heather Graham make this film worth a look even if in the end it is a disappointment.
