The average mark given by IMBd users seems to me very logical, a good movie, with very good acting and an interesting psychological thriller, but with several superficial details that partially spoil it.
But when I went to read the reviews I saw that most of them give 10/10 which I think is nonsense. Reading most of them I realised that what people praise is the message of the movie, not the movie itself. I agree that the movie makes a very good criticism of what mankind is, and how he treats the planet and himself. But imho the message is given in a too superficial and sometimes disappointing manner. First of all, how can Hopkins start talking so easily? just mention his daughter once or twice and voilá, he is talking. I expected to take some effort and intelligence for the psychologist to make him talk. Secondly, the rebellion in the mental health prison, when they start breaking the cards, the scene is so simple and stereotyped that looks like made for kids. Third, the moment when they kill the gorillas with the baby gorilla in hands of Hopkins, for me this was a cheap easy tear trick. And finally, all the psychological evaluation is too fast, shallow, without any unexpected turns and does not look intelligent at all. A nice touch is the homage to Shawshank Redemption when he goes out of the car in the rain and extends the arms, but even this was not very carefully made with the BMW at the bottom, not poetic image at all.
Conclusion: a nice movie, good acting, deep message, but several simplistic scenes and plot deficiencies spoil it.
But when I went to read the reviews I saw that most of them give 10/10 which I think is nonsense. Reading most of them I realised that what people praise is the message of the movie, not the movie itself. I agree that the movie makes a very good criticism of what mankind is, and how he treats the planet and himself. But imho the message is given in a too superficial and sometimes disappointing manner. First of all, how can Hopkins start talking so easily? just mention his daughter once or twice and voilá, he is talking. I expected to take some effort and intelligence for the psychologist to make him talk. Secondly, the rebellion in the mental health prison, when they start breaking the cards, the scene is so simple and stereotyped that looks like made for kids. Third, the moment when they kill the gorillas with the baby gorilla in hands of Hopkins, for me this was a cheap easy tear trick. And finally, all the psychological evaluation is too fast, shallow, without any unexpected turns and does not look intelligent at all. A nice touch is the homage to Shawshank Redemption when he goes out of the car in the rain and extends the arms, but even this was not very carefully made with the BMW at the bottom, not poetic image at all.
Conclusion: a nice movie, good acting, deep message, but several simplistic scenes and plot deficiencies spoil it.