December 11, 2003
Road to Perdition (3 stars)
In Road to Perdition, Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks), a hit man working for John Rooney (Paul Newman), an Irish mob boss, faces a dilemma when what he does is witnessed by his twelve-year-old son. A hit man from the same mob is sent to kill Sullivan and his family, but only kills his wife and son, Peter. Michael, Sr. and Michael, Jr. then set out to get revenge on the man who killed Peter and Mrs. Sullivan. Meanwhile, Maguire (Jude Law), another hit man who had done some work for Mr. Rooney in the past is sent to kill Sullivan.
The movie felt a little too overly pretentious and long winded for my tastes. Jude Law and Tom Hanks are excellent in their roles, contrasting styles of hit men, one who is somewhat ashamed of what he does and another who takes pleasure in his killing. It's worth a watch, but I doubt I'd sit through it again.