Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

leethomas-11621 Impressive. Foreboding atmosphere throughout. Unusual setting (New Mexico). Great acting from great actors. Loved the music. An intelligent film about justice for (black) people.

bbickley13-921-58664 For those of you who are fans of Oscar winner Forest Whitaker, than I recommended you check this one out.Whitaker plays a man on parole after 18 years of prison, and with the help of Allah, who he finds inside, he makes a great attempt to follow the path and get his life right, but too many things are pulling him down, especially the town sheriff that can't forgive him for killing his partner.Harvey Kitel plays the Sheriff, adding a little more star power to this small picture. Luis Guzman plays the role of Whitaker's ex-partner who wants to repay him for his loyalty by getting him back in the life.Kitel and Guzman are fine actors but their purpose is truly just to support Whitaker who barely needs it. It's the type of realness that you would expect from a academy award winning actor, who convinces you of being a man on the verge of redemption without hitting you over the head with a needless moral campus.The movie itself is not put together as well as Whitaker's award winning turn in The Last King of Scottland. It's all about pointing the camera at this man and watching him go. That's what you want to see and he gives it 100 percent.

Liam Blackburn This is a tough movie to watch. You feel for willy, he's trapped by his past actions. The sheriff weeps for the dead illegal immigrants. The parole officer weeps for her parolees. It seems nothing good can ever come from this world....can it. This, of course, is Satan's world. He owns this world, it's plain to see in this movie. Willy seeks answers from allah, but alas, he finds nothing but more and more pain. The cycle of violence continues on and on. In the end, Willy can't wash his hands clean any more. He can't do it, he can't wash his mind free of sin. Bottom line though, is he murdered another human, and now he is forced to live this hell on earth for the rest of his waking days. There's no use in running from it.

kosmasp My summary line making the point that this is a remake many years removed from its (french) original. I haven't watched the original, so I cannot tell you how the two movies compare. I can only judge this by its own merits (and faults). What I can say, is that Whitaker is giving an excellent performance. It's also nice to see Harvey Keitel in a bigger role, even if it sometimes turns a bit comic evil, he has the gravitas to pull it in.The age old question within this movie is: can we escape our pasts? Can we change and become someone/something different? Can we ever truly repent and is there such a thing as forgiveness? Those are heavy topics and the movie does not stay away from other topics as well (like religion, though it's not really made a big strong point, other than being there). You can tell early on, if this is the kind of "entertainment" you like to watch or not ... the rhythm/pace stays the same throughout (occasional outbursts excluded)