Road To Perdition

Road to Perdition is a movie so aspiring to greatness, so stacked in its talent, so total in its drive and relentless in its cinematography's striking beauty that the fact that it's merely a good movie is somewhat confounding. You have Academy Award-winning stable of actors Tom Hanks, Jude Law and Paul Newman with director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) and cinematographer Conrad L. Hall. Make no mistake, Road To Perdition is better than most. Adapted from the graphic novel of the same name, Road To Perdition is the story of hit man Mike Sullivan's (Hanks) betrayal by the small-town mob he kills for and his surrogate mob boss father figure (Newman), the murder of his family and his quest for vengeance, all the while trying to protect and save the soul of his remaining son. Set against early 1930s depression America, Road To Perdition features Hanks in his first "villainous" role, even though he's more of tormented man of honour than downright psycho, a role Law fills here with bizarre style as a hit man sent after Sullivan. And Newman is superb as the guilt-ridden mob boss/father figure. But one of Perdition's faults is that no matter how good the acting, how well shot the movie, how authentic the sets, the story is familiar and it's easy to predict the plot twists and eventually outcome. In terms of extras, Mendes does it up right, offering exceptional full-length commentary that gives insights into the process, story and deeper meaning. While the myriad deleted scenes range from good to merely extended sequences, they also come with strong commentary from Mendes and the "Making of" documentary acts as an adequate pre-movie primer. Still, when one aspires to greatness, perhaps it's best not to try too hard. Extras: deleted scenes, HBO's "Making Of" documentary, director's commentary, production notes, photo gallery. (Dreamworks/Universal)