On J List of Movie Reviews
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JFK (1991)
Rate:
10
Viewed:
3/06, 6/11, 8/24
3/06:
Upon seeing the running time of JFK, my initial reaction was "great...a marathon of boredom."
Afterwards, it turns out that I was dead wrong because JFK is an incredible masterpiece which represents
Oliver Stone's best. Outstanding are the acting, the storytelling, and, most of all, the editing.
Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, and Joe Pesci are captivating as the plot thickens.
I've often complained about films taking on a big subject only to underdeliver the goods, but Oliver Stone succeeded in
doing the impossible. My favorite moment is when Jim Garrison, after learning the real plot from Donald Sutherland's
character, summed up the startling discovery by saying, "The size of this is...beyond me." Yes, indeed.
All in all, three hours and twenty-six minutes of JFK whizzes through as if it's a short story mystery.
6/11:
JFK is a tour de force with excellent performances by an all-star cast at the hands of a master filmmaker.
It's a political picture that tackles a dangerous subject involving lots of conjectures and "what ifs" with a small amount of
substantial proofs. In short, what had transpired is a conspiracy theory at best. At any rate, Kevin Costner should be lauded
for handling his role with ease and confidence. He's a consummate actor who ranks up there with the best of the best.
All in all, JFK is 206 minutes of fascination without a letdown and remains among the best pictures of the 90's.
8/24:
Recently, I read a book called They Killed Our President: 63 Facts That Prove a Conspiracy to Kill JFK that's
written by Jesse "The Body" Ventura and wanted to see how JFK compares.
Well, JFK got everything right. The only question is: did Jim Garrison know this or that back then, or was some
stuff revealed years later? For example, the three "hobos" in the picture were actually professional killers, and one
of them was actor Woody Harrelson's father (yeah, no kidding). At any rate, Jim Garrison deserves credit for going
the furthest when it comes to the unraveling of the mystery.
Obviously, the film is brilliant, right down to the editing, making for a mesmerizing watch. It's unbelievable
to hear so much information packed in three plus hours, yet there are so many questions. So, yeah...what Donald
Sutherland's character said is essentially correct; that's why the president was murdered. As a matter of fact, the
actor was the genesis of the project which ended up being Executive Action,
but it kept getting delayed, forcing him to do a different movie. When it was ready to go, he got caught in a schedule
conflict. Hence, JFK was a makeup for him.
The courtroom speech by Kevin Costner has to be the pinnacle of his career. I love how he dissected the "magic bullet
theory" (the most ridiculous thing ever which was conceived by the idiot corrupt senator of Pennsylvania: Arlen Specter).
It's ironical that Wayne Knight was part of it because he would do the same thing again for the most famous episode in
Seinfeld history: the spitball incident along with his quote "Nice game, pretty boy" in a slow fashion.
All in all, JFK is among the best films of the decade, and there's nothing like it.