Review of On the Waterfront (1954) by Kerr M — 06 Jun 2009
When I slipped this movie into my DVD drive, I had no idea what to expect; my English teacher had loaned me the disk, telling me it was his favorite flick of all time. Although unlike my English teacher, I would not call this the greatest movie ever, it was quite enjoyable.
Marlin Brando was good, no surprise there, but I thought the star of the movie was Lee J. Cobb as ironically named mob boss, Johnny Friendly. Karl Malden also did a great job as Father Barry, the Catholic pastor of the film.
This movie had everything I like in a movie: good plot, deep themes, and great character development. I'm tempted to say that it was overly preachy a times, but with this movie, peachiness is acceptable, since the movie did it on purpose to make a point (one of the main characters is a preacher, after all). And its heavy morals are actually what separate this film from the rest, because like my English teacher noted, it isn't about someone trying to achieve happiness like in most movies; instead it's about someone trying to do what's right.
Not that this movie is without flaw, however. But it's hard to pinpoint its flaws. Nothing was terrible in the flick, but nothing was perfect either. It was a pretty good movie all around, one that will leave viewers satisfied, but not amazed.
This review of On the Waterfront (1954) was written by Kerr M on 06 Jun 2009.
On the Waterfront has generally received very positive reviews.
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