JFK (1991)
C+| 5/10
Oliver Stone is a fucking idiot and is nearly incompetent as a director. Not only does his theory not hold water (which I took no points off for - it's just an opinion), his craftsmanship is retarded. He compares John F. Kennedy to Julius Caesar at one point because his theory is that Kennedy was assassinated by order of loyal US Government members, much like the senators of Ancient Rome. Did he ever compare their military tactics? I wonder... (Caesar was an dictator and aggressive conqueror, Kennedy was making plans to pull out of the Vietnam War). Kevin Costner's wife appears on screen every 20 minutes just to bitch about how he's abandoned his family life to crack this conspiracy (which is a cliche that reappears in David Fincher's Zodiac). She's a terribly written CCC (cardboard cutout character) that fails to develop until late in the film when her children are in danger. Her husband later fails at beating the case (probably because he gives virtually no evidence against the guy...only superficial and circumstantial) and she's suddenly spellbound to him instead of being the same disloyal bitch she was throughout. That must have been one hell of a speech (was actually just a summary of events..)! Our hero believes everything he's told (Hello, Mr. Stone!). Half of the film is shot in flashbacks as if to say his characters weren't believable enough to just listen to and create our own visions (No can do! We MUST agree with Oliver Stone's point of view! He's Oliver fucking Stone and he makes movies!).
Gave it a 5 because supposedly it was an important film. Maybe it made the issue relevant again, maybe not. Maybe it offered new insights to the old investigations. Maybe it just combined the general public's foggy vision into one giant cloud. Maybe he was just rehashing old theories. I wasn't alive to make judgment, but this film does not hold up (Like I said, individual investigations have debunked his theories and many others).
Not recommended to anyone, and especially not to those who study the assassination.
This post was edited by Individuality on Mar 1 2010 12:50am