My Review of 'Road to Perdition'

Road to Perdition came out back in 2002. I'm not sure why I didn't go watch it when it first came out. I think it may have had to do with all of the quality movies that were coming out around that time. Look back at the lineup, and you'll see a lot of classics in there.

This movie recently popped up on Netflix, and I semi-remembered it. I know it starred Tom Hanks at probably the height of his success. It also stars a slew of stars that had yet to become big at the time.

The movie is also a period piece, and I don't think films based in the 1930s did very well back then. This movie dabbles in a lot of different sub-genres but I guess if you have to categorize it, maybe it would fit into thriller.

It's 1931, and the mob basically owns the streets. Our main character, Michael Sullivan (played by Tom Hanks), is one of the best hired guns in the city. He works alongside Connor Rooney, played by a young Daniel Craig. Connor so happens to be a hot headed son of the mob boss John Rooney, played by Paul Newman.

Connor is completely jealous of Michael, because Michael is basically the son that John Rooney never had. One day, Michael's oldest son, played by Tyler Hoechlin, follows Michael to work. Michael's kids are absolutely curious about their father, but don't know what he does for work. Unlucky for Michael's son, Connor was having an irrational night and decides to kill one of his underlings. Michael's son freaks out and runs and is discovered by everyone.

Irrational and hot headed Connor decides to murder Michael's family to cover up his wrongdoings. Michael freaks out and seeks out revenge. I hope I don't give too much away.

Watching this movie sort of reminded me of a John Wick of the 1930s. Michael has the same sort of assassin reputation as John Wick, and he's out for revenge just as John Wick was in his first movie. They played this part of the movie very well—so well that I started to question what Connor was thinking when he decided to kill Michael's family. I guess he thought he was above the law since he was the son of the mob boss. Another similarity to the original John Wick... hmm, maybe there's some copycat stories going on.

The beginning of the movie is kind of slow to set the tone and mood of the film. It ramps up very fast. I also liked that despite the fact that there wasn't extreme violence in the movie, it was still conveyed very well that Michael was a badass that no one should have ever messed with.

It's weird going back watching this because you see some stars before they became stars. A lot of familiar faces look a lot younger than you remember them today as well. It was also nice to see the late, great Paul Newman in a movie again.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. It's a slow start but it's well worth the ride. I think I appreciate this movie more now than I would have when this movie first came out. A good movie is good no matter when you watch it. This is the case with Road to Perdition. I'll have to give this movie an 8 out of 10. I know I compared this movie to John Wick, but don't expect the violence associated with John Wick. If you liked the mystery and badassness of the character John Wick, and you don't mind a slower paced movie, you'll really like this Road to Perdition.