This is a tricky one for me to review. On one hand, Road to Perdition is an expertly made film that gets all the technical aspects right. Sam Mendes' direction and Conard L. Hall's cinematography are both fantastic and Tom Hanks gives a great performance. But on the other hand, when the film ended, I was left somewhat dissatisfied. I felt like I needed more. It's hard to put into words but I'll do my best.
Road to Perdition was originally a comic book that was inspired by the great Lone Wolf and Cub series. Many of the same themes from the comic are present in the film, themes of fatherhood, vengeance, and redemption but it all feels very surface-level. All of the characters in the film are classic archetypes that we've seen numerous times before and the film doesn't really expose or showcase the deeper side to any of these characters. What we see on screen is what we get. As I said, very surface level, and I felt emotionally dethatched because of that.
Also, the score by Thomas Newman was very hit-or-miss for me. In its more somber moments, the score was great, but then there were moments when the score felt too whimsical and out of place. It stuck out to me numerous times while watching the film.
Overall, Road to Perdition is far from being a bad movie, I certainly liked it more than I disliked it. Both the direction and cinematography go a long way to make this film a very worthwhile watch. But at the end of the day, I wanted a gangster film that was more impactful emotionally and have characters who had a little bit more depth and complexity.
Road to Perdition was originally a comic book that was inspired by the great Lone Wolf and Cub series. Many of the same themes from the comic are present in the film, themes of fatherhood, vengeance, and redemption but it all feels very surface-level. All of the characters in the film are classic archetypes that we've seen numerous times before and the film doesn't really expose or showcase the deeper side to any of these characters. What we see on screen is what we get. As I said, very surface level, and I felt emotionally dethatched because of that.
Also, the score by Thomas Newman was very hit-or-miss for me. In its more somber moments, the score was great, but then there were moments when the score felt too whimsical and out of place. It stuck out to me numerous times while watching the film.
Overall, Road to Perdition is far from being a bad movie, I certainly liked it more than I disliked it. Both the direction and cinematography go a long way to make this film a very worthwhile watch. But at the end of the day, I wanted a gangster film that was more impactful emotionally and have characters who had a little bit more depth and complexity.