- Review: John Wick 3 (C)
Scott Sycamore - Weekend Box Office
May 17 - 19 - Crowd Reports
Avengers: Endgame - Us
Box office comparisons - Review: Justice League (C)
Craig Younkin
Movie Review
All the King's Men
By Craig Younkin Published September 23, 2006
US Release: September 22, 2006
Directed by: Steven Zaillian
Starring: Anthony Hopkins , James Gandolfini , Jude Law , Sean Penn
PG-13
Running Time: 128 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $7,221,458
Directed by: Steven Zaillian
Starring: Anthony Hopkins , James Gandolfini , Jude Law , Sean Penn
PG-13
Running Time: 128 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $7,221,458
C+
Patient viewers will find a fairly decent (if way over-stretched) drama about one hick's fight against the political system.
"All the King's Men" is fighting an uphill battle - a near two and a half hour movie that isn't totally captivating. Still, patient viewers will find a fairly decent (if way over-stretched) drama about one hick's fight against the political system, one that leans more toward the rich and the powerful than towards the people. That Sean Penn is the one playing the hick is the movie's greatest strength as he again shows why he is one of America's greatest actors. He imbues Willy Stark with the heart of a lion, a raging, riveting political speaker unwilling to back down from any fight.
It's a shame the rest of this great cast never even makes a dent. Jude Law looks bored and miscast, really only looking like background scenery to Penn's manic fireworks. His southern drawl also sounds pretty monotonous and his ponderous voice-over monologues about everything going on in the movie never registers as anything more than empty filler. He also has no romantic chemistry with Kate Winslet, nor do we even understand why Patricia Clarkson is in this movie or even what her character is all about. She seems to be a minor player on the campaign until later when she is introduced needlessly as someone Willy is having an affair with. And Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Hopkins show up in roles that really don't even need names of their caliber.
What sucks about this movie is that it's average and it really should be great. Even the character of Willy is underwhelming. We admire him for his forthright convictions but at the same time it feels like the movie is white-washing his political career. There always seems to be some shadiness and corruption to this character but it's never shown on screen. Just exactly how this character does politics was something I was always interested in but it was also something screenwriter/director Steve Zaillian never really looks at with much depth.
"King's Men" works as a brilliant actor piece for Penn though, giving him more than enough rousing speeches and ideals for any actor to sink his teeth into (and any audience to feel like standing up and cheering for). It's not enough to recommend it but once this hits video stores, it definitely worth looking at Penn?s portrayal.
It's a shame the rest of this great cast never even makes a dent. Jude Law looks bored and miscast, really only looking like background scenery to Penn's manic fireworks. His southern drawl also sounds pretty monotonous and his ponderous voice-over monologues about everything going on in the movie never registers as anything more than empty filler. He also has no romantic chemistry with Kate Winslet, nor do we even understand why Patricia Clarkson is in this movie or even what her character is all about. She seems to be a minor player on the campaign until later when she is introduced needlessly as someone Willy is having an affair with. And Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Hopkins show up in roles that really don't even need names of their caliber.
What sucks about this movie is that it's average and it really should be great. Even the character of Willy is underwhelming. We admire him for his forthright convictions but at the same time it feels like the movie is white-washing his political career. There always seems to be some shadiness and corruption to this character but it's never shown on screen. Just exactly how this character does politics was something I was always interested in but it was also something screenwriter/director Steve Zaillian never really looks at with much depth.
"King's Men" works as a brilliant actor piece for Penn though, giving him more than enough rousing speeches and ideals for any actor to sink his teeth into (and any audience to feel like standing up and cheering for). It's not enough to recommend it but once this hits video stores, it definitely worth looking at Penn?s portrayal.
Craig's Grade: C+
Craig's Overall Grading: 340 graded movies
| A | 10.9% | |
| B | 41.8% | |
| C | 31.8% | |
| D | 15.3% | |
| F | 0.3% |
