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Directed by: Jim Jarmusch Starring: Forest Whitaker Ghost Dog is an assassin who has vowed himself to the ancient ways of the samurai. Eight years ago his life was saved by a member of the mob, and Ghost Dog willingly gave himself to him as a retainer. On one assassination, because of an error on the mob's part, there is a witness to the attack. Ghost Dog learns that the mob is planning to kill him for this and must try to defend himself and his master from the mob without breaking his oath of servitude. I really have mixed feelings about this film. On one hand, Ghost Dog is one of the best characters I have seen in a movie in a long time. Whitaker does an excellent job of expressing his desire to live simplistically and according to his rules. The action scenes are rare, only one major one and a handful of other assassinations, but they are very well done and memorable such as one where he stands outside a man's house, cuts a cable line and shoots through the window when the man goes over to check his TV. This film has its problems though, namely that it is VERY slow moving. For a two hour movie, at least a half hour of video is of Ghost Dog walking or driving with music playing. Much of the music is fairly inappropriate to the character; he often drives around to rap music but at home will be seen meditating or practicing swordplay for spiritual purposes. Another gripe I had with the film was that there are dozens of scenes that are hilarious when this movie isn't the type that you will laugh at. My personal favorite of these was when an elderly (70ish) mob leader explained why he loved the rapper Flava Flav so much. However, despite its flaws, I think that Ghost Dog is worth watching just to see the main character. Whitaker carries this movie and does a very good job of doing so. RATING: 3.0 PROS: Great film idea, Cool main character, Sparse but well done action scenes CONS: Painfully slow moving, Many unintentionally funny scenes ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://imdb.com/title/tt0165798/
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Aug 12, 2005 07:57
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| # ? Apr 16, 2024 10:50 |
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I really like this movie as well. The score (by The RZA of Wu-Tang Clan) is excellent (RZA even makes a cameo as another samurai near the end of the movie) and Jarmusch draws from Le Samourai and Branded to Kill so perfectly. Rating: 4.0
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Aug 13, 2005 03:44
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I felt a bit let down by this movie, probably because I had such high expectations after loving Jarmusch's other work so much. The character of Ghost Dog is a really unique and noble kind of outsider and Forest Whitaker plays him perfectly. There's a real loneliness to his character that empathises with the pigeons and his friendship with an ice cream vendor and small child. My problem with the movie is the whole mob story. It really felt like a student film-maker's attempt at doing Tarantino style dialogue with budget actors. The mobsters were like caricatures of caricatures, and didn't seem like real people at all, their dialogue felt forced. It might have been alright in another movie, but in contrast to the humanity of Ghost Dog it just didn't sit right with me. I wanted to like it, but maybe my expectations were too high. Still some redeeming qualities though. Rating 3.0
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Aug 13, 2005 15:08
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quote:Duke of Phillips came out of the closet to say: I thought that combining modern music and old-timey swordplay or meditation served the purpose of illustrating how the old and new ways conflicted. There is the whole repeated message by the characters of how things are changing. Ghost Dog's life is an anchroonism. He is a (new) modern black man who practices the (dead) ways of the samurai while in service of a (declining) mafia boss. The mobsters were obviously meant to be caricatures of the old-school movie gangster variety, especially with names like Sammy the Snake, Joe Rags, and Big Angie. My interpretation of it was that their actions were so rediculous because it didn't fit in with the times. They lack the authority they once (if ever) had, and were an old stereotype on the decline. Although I could justify some people's complaints, I too felt this was a letdown. It was very slow paced and the execution as kind of strange. My biggest complaints were technical, in particular with the action scenes. The reality of some of the situations meant that I couldn't suspend my disbelief and thought it was hokey. Like others, I liked the character of Ghost Dog but he didn't fit the rest of the film as well as he could have.
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Aug 15, 2005 01:21
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