A kárhozat útja

Nagyon szép film, kiváló színészi alakításokkal és operatőri munkával. De a dicséret itt véget is ér. Ahhoz, hogy A kárhozat útja című film elérje Coppola A Keresztapa I. gengszterfilmjének szintjét, nagyobb figyelmet kellene fordítania Paul Newman / Tom Hanks kapcsolatára. A komor hangulatot pedig semmilyen humornak nem szabadna megtörnie. Így inkább olyan, mint Eastwood Tökéletes világ című filmje, Amerikai szépség film parfümjével illatosítva, túlzásba vitt fináléval. És a történet sablonos jellege sem tesz jót neki. Az "ő volt az apám" kijelentés már azelőtt a nyelvemen volt, mielőtt a kis Sullivan kimondta volna. (2002.11.13)

Filmed based on the successful comic book series by Max Allan Collins. Sam Mendes aroused such expectations among critics and fans with his American Beauty that he would not be able to satisfy them no matter how hard he tried. From my perspective and after sober consideration, I prefer Road to Perdition. Clearly, in terms of material selection, it was an obvious bet on certainty, but with American Beauty, that calculation was also, albeit more sophisticated. Mendes' gangster film is a compact film in every aspect, with perfect camera work, a strong story, and charismatic characters. Comparing Road to Perdition to what I've seen in the past year, I have no choice but to raise my rating to five stars. Overall impression 90%. (2006.06.14)

The best film of Sam Mendes and an absolute top in the gangster genre. The atypical casting of Hanks as a dark hero is an ideal counterpart to Newman's tragic boss, and his journey, fearlessly mowing down enemies led by perfectly slimy Law, is additionally captured by an amazing camera (see the unforgettable arrival in Chicago) and supported by impressive music. An underrated film. (2005.12.19)

Or: How Even the Most Direct Road to Perdition Can Lead to Movie Perfection. A visually indescribably atmospheric watch. Precise acting, perfect camerawork and faultless and inventive directing. Sam Mendes filmed so far the most faithful adaptation of a comic book to come to the movie screen so far. Although the storyline is simple, that’s where its strength lies. It could be criticized for being a wonderful shiny load of nothing about father and son finding a way to each other, but that’s not the feeling I get from this. Quite the contrary, for one thing, the scene in the rain is now in my top ten best scenes ever. It just has everything. From emotions, through marvelous production design, immense atmosphere to the actors. And the entire movie is like that, just perhaps not so intense all the while. And that’s pretty good, don’t you think? (2007.02.04)

Thanks to Mendes, this atmospheric gangster movie is quite untraditional (for the genre, not for Sam) in terms of visuals and is more colorful than usual. Sort of unusually “beautiful", but still dark. Excellent acting and that revolting creature Jude Law got that trick with the coin down to a T. Road to Perdition has several extraordinary scenes, but Thompson in the rain is enough to give you a heart attack. (2012.01.07)