Revenge

Starring: Kevin Costner, Anthony Quinn, Madeleine Stowe, James Gammon, Miguel Ferrer, John Leguizamo
Directed by: Tony Scott
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Thriller, Drama
1990

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A NAVY officer (Kevin Costner) goes to visit his friend, a shady Mexican businessman (Anthony Quinn). He quickly falls for his friend's wife (Madeleine Stowe), but if he acts on his feelings, he knows he will suffer the consequences.

Review:

Tim: For a film that offers some pretty gruesome and striking scenes, the movie ultimately leaves very little impact on us. How it manages to achieve such an unfortunate feat is beyond me. The whole movie never feels very well made. It has a second-tier, B-level quality to it that prevents us from enjoying it very much. The film is interesting, and we do care what happens, but the ineffective parts of the movie work to pull us out of it, rather than bring us in.

Kevin Costner is decent in the lead role, but felt slightly miscast. He as been incredibly effective in movies (even bad ones), but he just doesn't feel right here. Anthony Quinn was the smart casting choice for his role, and he is quite good in the role. This is the type of situation you want to have Quinn in, and he works well here. Madeleine Stowe is quite good in her role, and evokes some strong emotions from us. The supporting cast, especially Miguel Ferrer and John Leguizamo are strong.

The film should be applauded for not being afraid to show some gritty scenes. Our heroes go through some very unpleasant situations, spurring them to be hell bent on revenge. This is the general theme of the movie, and does bring the audience in, rooting for our protagonists to get their revenge. Now, the flip side is the question of whether some of this violence is a bit excessive and unnecessary. I'd say this is probably true, and if you don't like extreme violence, you won't like this movie. I don't have a problem with gritty violence, but it was a bit much for me.

Revenge is not a good movie. It has major flaws, and you will very likely experience some disappointment in this film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
A Perfect World, No Way Out, The Bodyguard