Rodrigo Amaro Such a shame that good talents were thrown to the winds on a unnecessary effort of trying to make something good out of almost nothing. Story is heavily clichéd, filled with repetitions and there isn't much of a path to walk on with. "Cadence" tells the story of a soldier (Charlie Sheen) who recently lost his father (Matt Clark) and not knowing how to cope with this news is arrested after some disturbance on a bar. Sent to a military prison where he's the only white man around among the prisoners, this tough guy will have to deal with an even tougher guy than he, a tyrannic Sergeant (Martin Sheen, who also directed this movie) who runs the place with strong hands. So, trouble is set when those two forces collide after some disagreements on how things work in the place and because of the bad temper between both, and a tragedy will define who they are and the course of things will never be the same.Most of the story is just showing a bunch of guys fighting against each other for meaningless things or over a gold lighter; or the sergeant punishing the soldier for not addressing him as 'sir' (this is quite funny, actually). Where's the goal? Where's the speech, the message in the work? It goes out of one place but stays there without a reason, and all that is plain boring, very drub. Yes, the prisoners exchange ideas with each other, they help things out among themselves and work hard in prison, trying to rehabilitate themselves while the place's chief always seems to disturb their peace, but the film never succeeds in making us interested in all of that, there's nothing magnificent in seeing recurring situations that leads to nowhere.Not much of an impressive directorial debut for Mr. Sheen (but the tragic scene filmed in slow-motion was quite good despite some melodrama involved), who takes an unimpressive performance from his son and some really average acting from supporting members like Laurence Fishburne, Michael Beach, F. Murray Abraham, James Marshall and others. Performances that go way below the surface, it's almost pitiful. Best thing of this is Martin's character, giving some motion to the picture, some funny moments.I don't see a way of how this could have been better. Very disappointing. 3/10

lastliberal This is not a military movie. Sure, it takes place in a military brig, and everyone in it are soldiers, but that is only a set for what this movie is really about.It is a generational movie about the WWII/Korea generation represented by MSgt. Otis V. McKinney (Martin Sheen), and the Vietnam generation represented by Pfc. Franklin Fairchild Bean (Charlie Sheen).I read the other day around Father's Day about some psychologist stating that we need fathers like McKinney. Well, like Charlie, I had one, and I can assure you that I would much rather have a father like Tim Russert. The fathers of McKinney's generation had some concept in their heads about discipline, which is good, but they forgot to meld that with love. McKinney cannot understand why his son, who is Bean's age, doesn't want to talk to him. I can.I don't know if it was novelist Gordon Weaver's intention, but I see why Bean found it easier to join the black convicts rather than McKinney. After all, most, if not all of them, grew up in fatherless homes. With the distance between McKinney's and Bean's generation, it can be said that he grew up fatherless also. Sure, Bean has a sense of responsibility in the end, but he also had a deep sense of compassion. One, he got from his father; the other he had to develop on his own.This is a movie that speaks highly to my generation. If anyone wants to understand us, then you definitely need to watch it.

iknowflicks Perhaps, it was my having seen this movie with a bunch of my Army buddies - while in the Army. Or maybe, being a Larry/Laurence Fishburne FANATIC! It could be that I saw this with my heart open and my mind closed...nah, none of the above reasons are why this movie ranks as one of my all-time favorites. It is the camaraderie and class of the relationship that Martin Sheen created with his main characters.Never have I seen a movie with such honesty and triumph. Truly, I saw the ending before it came...but I didn't care. Isn't that what a GOOD director will do - make you appreciate the movie and not focus on what the end result will be.The "End of My Journey" rips through me every time I hear it. A great film study on what true friendship is when race is not factored into the equation. 9/10 - And, I know flicks!

sweetdog this movie was average at best, the plot was relatively predictable, the acting was good, and i had prepared myself to never watch this movie again, until i saw, or heard rather, the last 5 minutes of this movie. harry 'sweetbread' crane, played by actor/singer harry stewart has perhaps the greatest voice i've ever heard. the song he sings which he also wrote, "End of my Journey", was simply breathtaking. It was his voice alone that brought my overall rating of this movie up from a 5 out of 10 to an 8 out of 10, he is that good. Unfortunately there was no soundtrack for this movie, though after searching for about 5 or 6 months, i was finally able to locate an mp3 of "End of my Journey". this movie is worth watching if only to hear stewarts voice soar...