The most overrated Tom Hanks movie — I simply do not understand the enduring adoration of this one. It’s lugubrious and trite, inspiring no sense of wonder or tragedy for me. It has all the hallmarks of Stephen King at his hackiest: the magical Negro, the pointlessly sadistic villain, the sense that he came up with the ending only after he’d already written two-thirds of the preceding story, etc. (If only Tom Hanks was was a novelist from Maine, we’d have the complete set.) All that said, it has a few remarkable scenes, an excellent production, and some great acting — including an incredible turn by Michael Clarke Duncan, whose physicality and tenderness overpower everything else and make the film almost good. (Almost, but not quite.)
Is It Good?
Nearly Good (4/8)
Note: This capsule review was originally published elsewhere. If I watch this movie again, I might expand this to a full-length review.
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