| Cast |
Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman, Jay Baruchel, Brian F. O'Byrne |
| Director |
Clint Eastwood |
| Screenplay | Paul Haggis, from the short stories by F.X. Toole |
| Music | Clint Eastwood |
| Cinematography | Tom Stern |
| Sound formats | Dolby Digital, Sony Dynamic Digital Sound, DTS |
| Made in | 2004 |
| Produced by | Warner Bros., Lakeshore Entertainment, Malpaso Productions, Albert S. Ruddy Productions |
| Scale (Max) | 20 |  |
What the Critics say | ||
| The Moviesite Ian Douglas | 14 |  |
| Cape Argus Yunus Kemp | 10 |  |
| The Cape Times Kenneth Turan | 15 | |
| The Star Tanya Farber | 16 | |
| Die Burger Francois Bloemhof | 20 | |
| Tygerburger Marita Senekal | 15 | |
| Sunday Times Barry Ronge | 20 | |
| eye Weekly Adam Nayman | 13 |  |
| Box Office Annlee Ellingson | 10 | |
| ReelViews James Berardinelli | 18 | |
| Chicago Sunday Times Roger Ebert | 20 | |
| BBC Neil Smith | 15 | |
What the People say | ||
| Internet 13501 Netizens | 17 | |
Average .. 78% | 16 | |
It's difficult to discuss this movie without revealing the crucial plot twist, but as another reviewer noted, the buildup to that point takes so long that what follows does not have enough time to develop. This movie really changes directions from that point, both plotwise and moodwise. So expect a roller-coaster ride.
The film is frequently funny, even though it is not billed as a comedy. From a ''big picture'' arty-farty point of view, the structure of the film itself imitates the career path of many a boxer.
In truth, the subject matter it deals with is something that people need to debate. Clint is trying to bring that topic to the table, where it needs legislative work. On the downside, I had difficulty following the conversations in the beginning. I don't know if this was a function of the sound system and/or cinema, or just bad diction by the actors.
Well worth seeing...
a crowd pleaser that delivers a knockout.