wmcg001 This movie is especially timely with the political season we're in. Sean Penn is a phenomenally talented actor. He takes the role of Willie Stark, making him so believable and enduring you end up falling in love with the guy. In telling this story about a country hick who becomes one of Louisiana's most powerful politicians has pitch perfect acting from all the stars in the picture. Big names like Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo, Jude Law, but seeing Sean Penn bring to life Willie brought me a new appreciation of Penn's acting ability. This movie is entertaining. I didn't see it when released and it's availability on cable never persuaded me to invest the time until this week. I thought it was one of the best movies I ever saw. It is a big sweeping movie that uses "technicolor" to it's best advantage. It is beautifully filmed, very visually appealing with direction that makes the distinguished cast tell a deep story simply and beautifully. The movie has style and flow. All The Kings Men is Sean Penn's to proudly own. Sean Penn has never disappointed me, however he is so real in this movie. His portrayal of Willie makes me want to vote for him for president of the United States this November.

ridge-m-1 Don't lose any sleep over the low rating of this film on IMDb. Most would be critics on this site are incapable of recognizing motion picture art.This remake of "ATKM" is one of this viewers favorite movies though it misses the mark of a would be masterpiece. Steven Zaillian and his crew did a wonderful job recreating the ambiance of Depression Era Louisiana. He was less successful in transforming the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of Robert Penn Warren into a screenplay but that is a herculean task.Although the novel is more about the life of Jack Burden, even he states that he is unable to separate his existence from Willie Stark's. Make no mistake, Warren based Stark on Huey "The Kingfish" Long, the smartest most capable as well as the most flamboyant politician of his time and that includes FDR. Sean Penn is absolutely brilliant and spellbinding as Stark and for those that say his performance is over-the-top, that is an oxymoron. The Kingfish's style was over-the-top which was a component of his brilliance as a politician. Jude Law inhabits the character of Jack Burden. Having read the novel, JL brings the character to life as he is portrayed by Warren. He should have been nominated for Best Supporting. The other over-sized presence in the picture is that of Anthony Hopkins as the judge. Another spot-on portrayal of the character if one is able to forgo the Louisiana drawl. In supporting roles, kudos to Patricia Clarkson as Sadie Burke who tears up the screen with her scenes as well as the underused talent of Sugar Boy as played by Jackie Earle Haley. Although Jackie's Sugar Boy is somewhat of a radical departure from the novel, he successfully creates his own persona. Warren's Sugar Boy would not be a character one would wish to watch on screen.Now for the casting disaster and one of the major flaws of the script. Kate Winslet is a wonderful actress. The project she worked on just prior to "ATKM' was a picture called "Little Children" for which she won an Academy Award as Best Actress. The film itself is thought-provoking and utilizes the talent of Jackie Earle Haley to a much greater degree which won him an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor. However, she cannot credibly play Anne Stanton because she is not beautiful. Warren portrays Anne Stanton as a goddess, the penultimate female from the genes of Louisianan aristocracy. Caroline Renee Christmann was perfect for the look of Anne Stanton at age 9 (unfortunately she did not grow up to be that angelic looking). She was the love of Jack Burden's life who did marry another beautiful woman but since it was based purely on physical attraction, it did not last. Winslet was the right age but not a proper fit for the role.Many that should know say Mark Ruffalo is a good actor. After all he has been nominated for three Oscars. The problem with his character in this movie is that the screenplay does not provide enough character development. He is transformed as one of the best doctors in the state to an assassin by virtue of one phone call. The picture as edited is a little over two hours long. Another 20 minutes of character development would have helped immensely.Then there is the "Chinatown" ending. Dramatic, yes, rewarding no. Does anyone remember the story is about Jack Burden but since when would Jude Law receive top-billing over Sean Penn. Warren's resolution is more rewarding and not nearly as bleak.As is stated earlier, excellent picture with outstanding photography and acting with a plot based on one of America's greatest novels. There was a masterpiece to be made but unfortunately it was not realized.

Frank1992 I saw this on DVD, and I still am not 100% sure of what happened! LOL There was absolutely NOTHING wrong with the acting. Sean Penn, Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins, Kate Winslet, Patricia Clarkson, Mark Ruffalo, and all the others did a fine job, but I do not know how they understood what they were doing! Much of the plot is very ambiguous. At the end of the movie, SPOILER ALERT, Judge Irwin commits suicide. After that, Jack's mother blames him for killing his FATHER. This seems to imply that the judge was his father, but what does that mean for Anne? Are they siblings? Was the Judge only looking out for her? In addition to that, I do not know if Willie Stark was cheating on his wife with Sadie Burke or not. Someone please explain it to me because I have no clue. I am about to try to find a plot synopsis and, hopefully, that will help. If this movie had won for best screenplay, I would have been appalled. So, due to its terrible ability at explanation of storyline, I give this movie a 7 out of 10.

Davalon-Davalon This film features some of my favorite actors, but the entire thing doesn't work. I suggest reading Todd McCarthy's review in Variety. It sums up all of the film's numerous weaknesses and accurately describes the questionable Southern accents of the leads. I love Sean Penn, but somehow, even the mighty Penn cannot make this film work.Like Variety said, something about it wasn't real. There are several distinct scenes where you can sense you are on the set and the director has yelled "Action!"... and the actor goes through with his scene because he knows his lines and his marks... but that's it. It's really a tragedy; it should have been a great movie.The other thing is... you'll get lost with the plethora of characters and you will spend 2/3 of the movie trying to figure out what the relationships are... and then you'll forget half of them, which is too bad, because some of them will come back and you'll have to recognize them all over again. Overall, a big mistake.