Eastern PromisesMovie Reviews

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  Written September 22, 2007

  Oh Viggo.

  by Daydream

  There is solid acting in this film. Viggo steals the movie with an amazing performance. Watts shows what shes got as well. This is a great Russian Mafia movie with scenes that make you move in your seat. Honestly, I wasnt a huge fan of Cassel in his role, but you cant always get what you want... I give it a go just for Viggo. He was amazing, as always.

  • 25 out of 31 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written October 11, 2007

  A action movie without guns and explosions......IT WAS FANTASTIC

  by BobbyDEE

  I went to this movie having no real expectations, now be warned this movie is
  violent and a bit gritty but in that fact it is wonderful. Also once the movie
  ended I realized that there was no gunplay or explosions. Most action flicks
  these days are all about over the top heroes who can't be hurt while they
  fire unlimited ammo from their never failing weapons. The main character in this film had some close calls and I never felt he was a generic superhero very real. To sum up, a bit of reality in these movies was a refreshing change of pace.

  • 12 out of 17 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written October 3, 2007

  Eastern Promises - intense ---

  by aw2921

  Eastern Promises is a movie that stays with you -- while David Cronenberg is known for violence - it is necessary to the story and there is sifficuent lead time to look away
  Viggo Mortensen has regal bearing and completely disappears into the role
  
  If you liked Lord of War - this is a step beyond in revealing aspects of the Russian underworld that is both frightening and fascinating
  
  Very powerful film

  • 6 out of 7 found this review helpful.
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• So-so
  Written October 14, 2007

  Unfulfilled promises

  by Igotothemoviesalot

  Another movie that almost got it but missed. A Russian teen dies during birth in London leaving a mysterious diary behind. A man gets murdered. The Russian mafia is involved. An uncle who could have solved the mystery early in the movie. All thinly related plot points. The first half of the movie does little to advance the plot. Naomi Watts' character does little in the second half. At times, it felt like a documentary on the inside of the Russian mafia (with plenty of scenes unrelated to the plot at hand.) And kudos to Viggo Mortensen for baring it all during the only exciting scene in the whole movie where he battles two assasins while in the nude at the public bath house (and yes, he does show it all.) A word of caution, beware if you don't like your movies with heavy accents; half the movie is spoken with a thick Russian accent (with some scenes with English subtitles.)

  • 7 out of 10 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written September 23, 2007

  Eastern Promises

  by luckyducky

  Acting was superb. Movie was far better than we ever expected. The twists and turns were excellent. The bath fight scene, however, was too graphic and brutal for my taste, although extremely realistic. The ending was just the way it should be. I'd recommend this movie to any adult who wants something to think about when they go home, as long as they can stomach the violence.

  • 6 out of 8 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written September 18, 2007

  A Russian Godfather

  by CINEMA_KEN

  In London, an innocent crosses paths with a patriarch of a Russian family whose business is shall we say, cash only. It is a Russian Godfather complete with a wise strong patriarch, a deeply flawed heir apparent In a multi-generational family setting replete with big family dinners, lots of food and drink, kids, music - and graphic and brutal violence, mostly deserved. In other wortds, film worth watching again and again. Naiomi Watts (Mullhullan Drive) sizzles as the naive midwife who looks for a baby's family with a Russian diary that could put away the Russian mob. The Godfather is perfectly cast - as are the son and his soldier. The midwife's Russian uncle who translates the diary is blilliant - his face alone deserves an Oscar! One word: Sequel!

  • 6 out of 8 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written September 29, 2007

  A growing partnership

  by darcyman2

  Viggo Mortenson and David Cronenberg are fast forging an artistically impressive partnership in the league of John Wayne and John Ford, Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorcese.
  
  Mortenson dominates the screen with a magnetic presence, and eerily compelling stillness. Coupling nicely with Naomi Watt's reliably excellent performance, he presents a nuanced portrait of a man precariously poised between worlds and roles. He excellently underplays the tension simmering just below the surface.
  
  Cronenberg also does a masterful job of creating a tight, controlled thriller very much of and about its setting--for all of the overglamorous and pseudo-edgy portrayals of London, he delves into the substrata of a vibrant city to show its visceral and pulsating underworld as it collides with the working class existence of "normal, ordinary people."

  • 5 out of 6 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written October 8, 2007

  Viggo is amazing

  by katmat35

  You know...I could go on and on about the complex and gripping plot and how fair Naomi Watts is in this picture, but you know what????....the bottom line for me was that Viggo is completely nekkid in a knife fight with 2 bad guys....the entire time I was holding my breath and in disbelief that I was witnessing Viggo's undercarriage in all it's natural glory! This is a fantastic movie!!!

  • 5 out of 6 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written September 22, 2007

  A Bloody Slab of Reality

  by moobiebuff

  A chilling, uncooked incision that severs the viewer into a reality more raw than one is first willing to admit, but nonetheless is brutally force-fed. A paper cut on the psyche, this movie sieves your heart and mind, ransacks your subconscious, to wreak an inexplicable, strikingly near visceral, corollary. What these characters exude separates this film upon an entirely more cavernous psychological rift altogether. Its complexity is bleeding, a sensory saturation leaving us to metabolize its powerful effect on us long after we leave the theatre. Upon first glance, what Cronenberg faces you with leaves your jaw on the floor, your stomach sank into your lap, your throat swelled up, and your heart wrenched like Cronenberg himself was wringing out a towel. Viggo Mortensen is absolutely mystical, and has entered in my books the supernatural echelons of actors and actresses. Immeasurable directing. Un-befreaking-lievable!!!

  • 6 out of 8 found this review helpful.
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• Oh No!
  Written December 23, 2007

  oh please...

  by truereviews

  Please somebody save us!!! I'm sick of these really tacky male frontal scenes, why do they spring them on us like that? From American History X, to this nonsense of a terribly cast movie. These scenes cheapen and render unwatchable otherwise passable fare.

  • 8 out of 12 found this review helpful.
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• So-so
  Written November 26, 2007

  Mmmm....gory

  by leigh01

  Wanted to like this film so much. Great cast, set in my home town of london, and a great director. The truth is the plot is extremely dark and depressing (14 year old rape victim who dies giving birth to the daughter of the Russian Mafia head Don-Ski and then a trail of death and distruction in an attempt to rub out all associated history), and the violence is ugly (a knife in the eye, fingers cut off by tweezers) and there is also some naked male wrestling with nads a kimbo.
  GoodFellas it isnt, and although its an interesting film i wouldn't rush to go see it on an empty stomach

  • 10 out of 17 found this review helpful.
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• No
  Written September 18, 2007

  overhyped

  by nyc1980

  Aside from the inconsistencies in subtitles (not all foreign speech is subtitled but some English is!), there are some holes in the timing and logic: in one scene the characters are deliberating about an important issue, in the next they're in another location having already acted on the results of their deliberation, but who persuaded who? And the story has been told before... think "The Departed," with Russians.
  There's some gore and blood, but only one real fight (Vigo is naked for it), making this more of a drama than the action/shoot 'em up-type movie I was expecting. Watts' character starts out strong and ends up weak, with a half-hearted breakdown/breakthrough toward the end of this great experiment in anti-climax.
  Maybe the DVD will have extended scenes or commentary that could fill in the holes. I'll never know, as sitting through this once was enough for me.

  • 6 out of 9 found this review helpful.
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• Go
  Written October 2, 2007

  Viggo Does it Again

  by brightstar965

  Such a talented character actor and leading man in one package. Yes, Viggo is what got me to the movie and the story is what kept me. It was great, the accents were great, the violence was proportionate to the story line and not gratuitous. The only thing I didn't like what how quickly it was tied up at the end. It was as if there were a lot more movie to make but not enough time or money. It seemed like a movie they ended so that they could do a sequel but I'm not sure a sequel would work for this type of movie. I will buy it on DVD for my library. Its a great movie that a thinking girl can watch with a husband/boyfriend and they will both have a good time.

  • 5 out of 7 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written December 15, 2008

  Another mob flick to add to your collection.

  by ForlornSky

  The movie begins with an event that sparks the series of events that occur during the movie. The cast all did a great job on their parts. The story line was amazingly put together. It's a movie for anyone who loves the mob genre.

  • 12 out of 21 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written September 18, 2007

  Eastern Promises

  by BobinSF

  Viggo Mortenson has emerged as a truly great actor. This is flawless gangster noir. The Turkish bath scene trumps joins the ranks of the most heart stopping fight climaxes ever created. Naomi Watts does a credible job, but this film is about Viggo and a Russian mafia axis of evil. You will need 3-5 days to reduce the image intensity in your head, but you will not forget this one. Highly recommended, and clearly an Oscar vehicle for Viggo Mortenson and the director.

  • 6 out of 9 found this review helpful.
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