berk-dyilmaz
I've just wasted 2hr and 18min of my life + the time required to write this comment.....
merelyaninnuendo
Mystic RiverThe deliverance of the information is the key ingredient that unlocks this marvel, for even though it lacks the essential crisp in it, its impact definitely outgrows the potential. The adaptation by Brian Helgeland is, if not gripping, dark and brutal that stays true to its tone throughout the course of it. Clint Eastwood; as expected, has brilliantly executed the script and holds on to his part of the work with the help of amazing cinematography and fine editing. Sean Penn is achingly good in his portrayal of a troubled parent and is supported by a great cast like Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon and Lawrence Fishburne. Mystic River flows smoothly off to the shore despite of having some ups and downs and the reason behind it would be none other than Clint and his skills.
metal_midget
It starts so amazingly good! And then it just SWOOP! Downhill for horrible ending! Nope, not watching this movie again, would NOT recommend it to anyone ever at all. It's just like The Mist! What an AMAZING movie but that ending was BARF! The ending is what sells and seals the deal. Gave it a chance, huge disappointment, 3 out of 10
Luciano Marzo
Mystic River starts off strong enough. It's dated, but engaging, and benefits from great performances from Tim Robbins and Sean Penn. It contains some high-quality scenes, but as a whole, it's very disappointing, mostly due to the fact that it has one of the worst endings I've ever seen. The ending is so bad, it ruins the entire movie, which is a shame when you consider how much better the movie could have been with just a few key changes (mostly to the third act). Toward the end of the movie, one of the most likable characters is killed off unnecessarily. His murder is deeply dissatisfying, and everything about it, including the aftermath (in other words, the rest of the movie), which the writers also flubbed, feels like it belongs in an inferior draft of a much better screenplay. The ending is not just dissatisfying, it's disgusting. Jimmy's wife, Annabeth, is a repulsive human being, and the final scene with her is nauseating. Mystic River ends on a horrible note. Of the movie's two tragic murders, one is shrugged off, and the other is not only defended by the perpetrator's own wife, but not investigated by a character who is a police officer! (He doesn't arrest the culprit, either, despite the fact that the perp more or less confessed to the crime). And then we're expected to give a sh*t when the police officer's wife decides to come home? Such a reunion seems trivial during the aftermath of the ruthless murder of a major character, whose death, I might add, was not grieved by a single character, and was almost entirely glossed over. But even disregarding the two murders, or at least the more recent one, I had zero emotional investment in the police officer at this point, anyway, and can't imagine other viewers having much more. Come to think of it, I cannot recall a single point in the movie where Kevin Bacon's character did anything that might arouse the slightest bit of sympathy in the audience. Yet, by the end of the movie, more focus is given to this minor subplot to do with his wife and to a random parade than to the overarching plot of the movie! Mystic River had the potential to be an excellent crime drama, but it squanders the talent of its leads to create a movie that is extremely unpleasant, incredibly frustrating, and vastly overrated.