This movie has been almost universally panned, and it certainly has major flaws.
For one, it's too long without being 'epic' enough to sustain the length. Also Tom Cruise's occasional attempts at being funny and Irish just don't come off. And cliche is piled upon cliche and coincidence upon coincidence, just to make the story work.
But some of the criticisms seem unfounded to me. OK, Cruise and Kidman don't really control their destinies - but who does? Yes, they're pushed from one situation to another - but who isn't? And they do, on certain occasions, make significant decisions which change their future.
One fault of the DVD and video is not the film's: it does really need to be seen on a huge screen to help it work, particularly the final land-race sequences. And Nicole Kidman is as always excellent, with just the right amount of feistiness and yet also vulnerability.
All in all, a good piece of entertainment, but some tweaking of the storyline would have helped.
For one, it's too long without being 'epic' enough to sustain the length. Also Tom Cruise's occasional attempts at being funny and Irish just don't come off. And cliche is piled upon cliche and coincidence upon coincidence, just to make the story work.
But some of the criticisms seem unfounded to me. OK, Cruise and Kidman don't really control their destinies - but who does? Yes, they're pushed from one situation to another - but who isn't? And they do, on certain occasions, make significant decisions which change their future.
One fault of the DVD and video is not the film's: it does really need to be seen on a huge screen to help it work, particularly the final land-race sequences. And Nicole Kidman is as always excellent, with just the right amount of feistiness and yet also vulnerability.
All in all, a good piece of entertainment, but some tweaking of the storyline would have helped.