An Innocent Man
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Movie Reviews of An Innocent Man
Movie Review: Predictable, but entertaining.
Summary: 3 Stars
This is one of those, "it ain't great, but I liked it" movies. This is a formulaic movie, loaded with cliches and stereotypes, but without a great script to carry it. Unlike the superior "Shawshank Redemptions" of the world, it's not hard to figure out where this movie is going. That plus this one has more of a made for TV feel to it. Nevertheless, and the simplified vision of prison life aside, I liked this movie. The acting leaves a lot to be desired, but you can only use what your writers give you, and this cast makes the most out of it. Selleck is, well, Selleck. And Abraham is probably the best in his role of the wise, hip, independent, fellow inmate. But even that role is somewhat thin. Thin but fun. You know from the start how this one's gonna end up. The cast is too over the top to not to give it away. But it's still fun to watch unfold, as all the various roles get what the genre has coming to them. I can't remember the last time I saw Laila Robins, who plays Selleck's wife in this. She's an understated doll. If nothing else, this is an entertaining movie.Movie Review: Innocent Man's Language
Summary: 3 Stars
I had a copy of this film taped from the TV and I didn't realize how many language substitutions there were. Although the story is good, the language in this video is terrible. I will be putting it in the first garage sale I can in the spring.Movie Review: Growing pains
Summary: 3 Stars
Tom Selleck in the role of Jesse Stone has quickly become my favorite actor. I purchased "Innocent Man" hoping this would carry over. However, it did show how much Mr. Selleck matured and become a great actor.Movie Review: Good Action/Okay Acting
Summary: 3 Stars
Really like this movie. Story is good, but some of the acting is little less than desired. It still has that "good guy wins" feel to it though.Movie Review: Innocent fluff
Summary: 2 Stars
This is my original review, from September 2007: "I liked Selleck in Quigley Down Under, but here he is unconvincing and is weighed down by a predictable, one-dimensional plot. Anyone who doesn't know where this movie's going from the word go is an innocent man or woman. The opening scene, in which he's shown as kind, generous, principled, brilliant, is positively saccharine. This is thoroughly lightweight entertainment that is more like your typical infallible TV series hero than a serious, intelligent movie."
Earlier today I got a notice from Amazon.com that someone had commented on my review, to wit: "Rediculous [sic] viewpoint and concusions [sic]!" But the comment had already been removed, less than half an hour after it had been posted, so I guess the commenter lacked the courage of his conviction. Nonetheless, I try to be fair, so I read the reviews that had accumulated since mine (many of which strike me as uncritical), plus a cross-section of movie critics at [..] The latter contain such epithets as "hopelessly lame" and "strains credulity" (Janet Maslin), "plodding" with a "by-the-numbers" script (Chris Hicks), and "your standard, straight-ahead, puckishly manly Selleck portrayal" in the one tepidly positive review (Roger Piantadosi). But even Piantadosi refers to "the feebly tacked-on opening sequence," which I described in my original review as "positively saccharine". The one full-length review I found was Roger Ebert's. (Most of the critics apparently didn't feel it was worth the bother.)
Although Selleck is serviceable rather than a top actor I refrained from stoning him, noting only that he was "unconvincing" and "weighed down by a predictable, one-dimensional plot." Although I later was inclined to blame the director, Peter Yates, for eliciting silly, one-dimensional portrayals from his cast, Ebert refers to the "simple-minded, dumb plot" and the "thin, assembly-line screenplay" which "doesn't give the director, Peter Yates, the convincing stuff of real life to work with." So maybe my initial impulse to blame the screenplay, a first-time effort by Larry Brothers, as the only credible villain in this movie, was on target. Ebert also criticizes the opening sequence, suggesting it plays "exactly like an airline ad" and that "the editing rhythm make the sequence feel like a TV commercial," thus establishing Selleck as "a plastic, one-dimensional symbol of innocence." Ebertin also refers to the movie as "lightweight", not too divergent from my "innocent fluff" or the take of the other reviewers at [..]
So my second thought is that my original two-stars is reasonable, although the abjectly silly opening sequence might have influenced me to give it two stars rather than three. But a movie in which the bad guys are over-the-top bad, and the good guy over-the-top good, hardly merits more. If you want a movie that addresses social issues with good acting and depth, try Cautiva (Captive): Testimonio de un secuestro (Spanish Edition), an amazing and deeply moving film. If you like Selleck, however, and simply want something undemanding to relax with, you can hardly go wrong with An Innocent man.