History of Violence/Eastern Promises

[patrickdonohue]

So I settled in Saturday night to watch Eastern Promises on HD-DVD. After being really underwhelmed by A History of Violence, a film though critically hailed I felt to be rather trite and cliché in its depiction of rural, small-town America, I was expecting to have a similar reaction to David Cronenberg's latest offering. Boy, was I wrong. I was absolutely blown away this movie. While Naomi Watts turned in another bland performance, the cast and even the dayplayers were spectacular. Vigo Mortensen was captivating and Vincent Cassel may be one of the most underrated actors working today. After disliking A History of Violence so intensely, I was really happy to enjoy this film, though the ending felt a bit rushed. And I agree with Alex, the Russian mafia scares me too.

[darthender]

I also enjoyed it.

[deegraww]

They were both kinda meh to me. Realistic but I just didn't get sucked into the story. The acting was fine in both movies but just meh.

[barrelroll]

I feel like Eastern Promises just didn't know what it wanted to do... It wasn't delving into the Russian mobs life, it wasn't doing more with the twist (don't want to spoil), and it wasn't very sentimental (even though you-know-what happens).

That might have been a vague way of putting everything... but, I don't want to spoil the movie.

All in all, I enjoyed the movie... the last scene is awesome. But, I think it just fell flat in some places... As did A History of Violence (I love the last scene in that movie, too)

[mittop]

I enjoyed both of these films.

[dooftastic]

I liked them both a ton, however I wish Cronenberg would do another with a sci-fi tinge.

[patrickdonohue]

I really enjoyed the films moral ambiguity and lack of sentimentality. I think the film this film is brilliantly paced for a movie that, for the most part, is a very slow burn.

[tsmith15]

I loved Eastern Promises, because I think no matter which direction they went with it, it would have been awesome because the cast, crew, directors and everyone did such a good job. The atmosphere was awesome, and Viggo is one of the most hardcore actors I've ever seen. Not to mention one of the most memorable fight scenes of all time.

[jason-h]

Man, despite the little things i liked or disliked, that dude can put it down. He was sooooo good in this. I really dug watching him do his thing. He OWNS whatever character he is portraying. Just awesome.