25th Hour

[andyfox]

A very fine movie. A lot to think about, great score, and a wonderful paean to New York City. A haunting remembrance of the World Trade Center in the opening credits sequence.
I didn't like the ending, but overall, well worth seeing.

[Clarkmeister]

Spike should have stopped after Do the Right Thing. He hasn't approached it since IMO.

[Dynasty]

I always thought Do the Right Thing was vastly overrated. I liked Malcolm X a lot.

[baggins]

i didn't like the ending either. but everything else was great.

[Munga30]

It's not the first Spike Lee joint after which I've thought "I didn't like the ending," and then "I'm not supposed to like the ending," leading to "I guess I kinda like the ending."

[Rick Nebiolo]

I think he should have stopped after "She's Gotta Have It", his first and IMO best movie by far.

~ Rick

[J_V]

The ending was really flat out terrible. But the rest of the movie was so good, I didn't care. The "[censored] you" rant in the bathroom was a helluva monologue. Plus, who doesn't like Ed Norton?

That guy that played the Wall Street friend was very good, but his squirrly friend was a little too squirrly for me, it became irritating.

One of the best I've seen this year.

[Six_of_One]

I've heard several people say that they didn't like the ending, and I'm curious...what is it that you didn't like? Personally, I loved the movie and felt that the ending fit perfectly.

[andyfox]

I thought Lee was trying to show the importance of individual responsibility; yet the imagined ending of Monty getting away with things and living a good life counteracted this. Was Lee trying to show what would have been had Monty allowed his father to talk him into doing this? When they came back to the present time, Monty was sleeping and it wasn't clear to me whether they were going to Monty's prison appointment or running away.

[Six_of_One]

The way I interpreted it was, Monty was dreaming about running away because despite the fact that he is taking responsibility for his own actions, the lure of a life a freedom is very strong.

When they showed him sleeping, I was sure that they were just on their way to the prison. It was kind of like he was enjoying his last moments of freedom by dreaming about what might have been. After all, why would Monty have gotten his friend to beat him up so badly if he was just going to run away?

[andyfox]

Yes, he didn't plan to run away. But did his father talk him into doing so?

Thinking about it, perhaps being a New Yorker might have helped here. They were driving next to the river, meaning they were going upstate along the Hudson, rather than cross-country.

[Munga30]

The father's comments about the route to take to get to the prison and then about which exit to take to start "the run" led me to believe the final shot indicated they were going to prison.

[baggins]

i was pissed because it didn't end. it stopped but didn't end.

postmodernism can only be good to a point. then you have to build something. otherwise all is nothingness, which is BS.

anyway, it seems like the whole story, since nothing ACTUALLY happens, rests in Monty's character.

and his entire character hinges on what he decides to do.

so when he doesn't decide, the entire character - and, consequently, the entire movie - falls apart.