Eye for an Eye (1996)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Great Film overall

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

This is the story of Karen McCann a loving wife and mother who seeks her own justice when the court system frees her daughter's killer. I have read the reviews of this movie, and I'm disappointed with some reviews. This movie is a brilliant piece of cinema. There are some plot holes, but overall this movie is superb. I will say this the opening rape scene of Karen's daughter is horrifying to watch. To be honest Every time I watch this movie I try to skip that part. However, if you watch this movie for the first time I feel you would be cheating yourself out of feeling hate and anger when the court releases the killer. The characters all develop so well! Especially the killer Robert Doob. Kiefer Sutherland is so good! His opening line in his performance comes at the case scene when he gets released, and he stares right in the eyes of Karen's eyes and says, "Sssssssssorry." He was mocking the fact that her daughter had a stutter. It gives you chills. Lastly, Sally Field is absolutely astounding she may not have gotten an Oscar out of this performance, but I feel any other actress who would have to give this performance could never do as good as she does! The same goes for Kiefer I feel he needed to see a therapist or something after this performance. If you have not seen this movie you need to!

First of all I cannot believe this movie has an overall rating of 6.1 on IMDb. This is by far one of the best films I have ever seen. I came across it on my Netflix account one night and decided to give it a whirl. WOW. I hate those movies where you waste the first half waiting for it to get to the point. This one however wasted no time at all. Within the first ten minutes the shocking rape scene was happening and needless to say the acting was outstanding from every character! From then on I was hooked on this film, and I knew that the rest of it was going to be an intense journey. The way the mother reacts to the situation was spot on and I felt for her throughout the whole movie. It's a great but chilling story about justice, and revenge. Every character performed fantastic and there were moments where I felt sick to my stomach with the villain. To say it's not a horror movie, to me it was terrifying and it's safe to say ill never answer my door again! Nowadays movies like this are full of tacky lines and pathetic acting. This one keeps it very real and quite traumatising. Well done!

The Director has Made Some High Intensity Films like Midnight Cowboy (1969) and Marathon Man (1976). This One is a Trashy, Gut-Turning Movie that is So Over Emotional and Underwritten it Wavers Between Cathartic and Crass Exploitation.A Very Good Cast Highlighted by Sally Field and Kiefer Sutherland, All of the Other A-Listers are Wasted, the Most Obvious is Ed Harris. This is Essentially a Standard and Heavy Handed Revenge Movie that Does Not Completely Satisfy.The Underground Vigilante Group Seems to Be There Only to Justify the Mother's Motivations and the Support Group, as Irritating as it is, is Just More Insufferable Clichés. The Strength of the Movie is Sutherland's Creepy Killer (delivering some really edgy lines) and Field's Determined Detachment, but as a Whole the Movie is Nothing More than Average Social Commentary.Worth a Watch with Low Expectations and a Tolerance for Over the Top Tropes in a Genre that More Often Than Not Leans Toward Trash and This One is No Exception.Note...However, it is better than every Death Wish Sequel.

Sometimes it's more interesting to review the reviews than review the movie. There's nothing technically wrong with this movie. Production values are fine. The acting is fine. Anyone rating this a 1 is an incompetent reviewer. 1-star reviews so far rant that Ed Harris ruined the movie and at the same time wonder why Super Ed was saddled with such a horrible supporting cast. Maybe reviewers should be allowed to vote 4-6 until they prove competency.Back to the movie. So far, I have yet to see a movie with Sally Field where she doesn't shine. While her movies may not be perfect, she's a superb actress. Like Tom Hanks, she generally picks winners to be in (funny they starred in at least 2 movies together). I'm also developing a liking for Joe Montegna. I see him in a lot of films and he brings a nice competency to supporting roles. Same for Ed Harris. I like Kiefer Sutherland in his various movies and he does a fine job (even if slightly over the top here) of being creepy.So let's talk film content. Revenge films are intriguing in many ways. To an extent, that concept is an easy way to develop conflict for the viewer. However, it's much harder to come up with a reason for the vengeance. "The Sting" took revenge to high art. "Eye for an Eye" is not high art, so no 10 from me for the film. A 7 will have to do. Others have compared this to the better known "Death Wish," but I think this was better produced and had better flow. Aspects of the movie are predictable, but I've seen many a good movie that was predictable.Summary: if you're scanning Netflix or Blockbuster for an unseen movie with decent action and dialog that moves at a good pace, "Eye for an Eye" isn't revenge on the level of "M," "The Sting," or "Gran Torino" but it's a decent watch... especially if you like the acting talents of Field, Sutherland, Harris and Montegna. If you like action/revenge films, pop some popcorn, curl up with someone special and enjoy.