Though he's probably one of the best actors ever, I don't think it's possible for Tom Hanks to play a convincing villain. I could be wrong, and I'd love for there to be a movie that would PROVE me wrong, but for now I can't see it. However, with "Road to Perdition," we get something close. Tom Hanks doesn't exactly play a villain, but he plays an anti-hero, a bad guy you root for. Tom Hanks plays a hitman, a killer. Think of "Leon" in the movie "The Professional" (or its other titles, "Leon" and "Leon the Professional"). Sure, he's a hitman, but he's still a swell guy, right? He only kills bad people, no women or children, and he has a really soft spot for this little kid, a little kid he stops at nothing to protect.
The title has a double meaning, because in the movie, there's an actual city called "Perdition," but if you were to look up the word "perdition" in the dictionary, you'd see that the definition is "Loss of the soul; eternal damnation." See? Double meaning.
Moving on...
"Road to Perdition" is a gangster movie, but it's more along the lines of the old gangster flicks of the 30s, like "The Public Enemy" or the original "Scarface." The difference is that it's more violent, and a lot more stylish. Also, the characters are much more complex. But what stands out to me, aside form the great acting, is how poetic the violence is. There's this one sequence where Tom Hanks guns down a whole buncha people, and the way it's shot is brilliant.
The cast in "Road to Perdition" is amazing, making it the most well-acted movie of the year so far. Tom Hanks stars in the film, and do I really need to tell you how great he is in this movie? The man is phenomenal, so you get what you expect. Is he believable in this role? For the most part, yes. He plays the role very subtle and low-key, and it works. There are times where you look at him, and you know he's pissed, and you say "oh shit" under your breath, because you know what he's about to do. Tom Hanks is great, but the one who really steals the show is Paul Newman. Paul Newman is a legendary actor who starred in, among others, "The Hustler," its sequel, "The Color of Money," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Sting," and the great "Cool Hand Luke." Still, it's been years since he's had such a high-profile role, and trust me when I tell you, he's gonna get an Oscar nomination. His character is the most complex, and he plays the role perfectly. With this movie, Paul Newman proves that he truly is the legend he's reputed to be. Jude Law also turns in an astonishing performance. You may remember him in "The Talented Mr. Ripley," and he also played "Gigolo Joe" in "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence." He's a pretty boy actor, but in this movie, Jude Law is an ugly ass dude. To give you an idea, think of what another pretty boy actor, Brad Pitt, looked like when he starred in "Kalifornia."
The guy who plays Tom Hanks' son in the movie is Tyler Hoechlin (prior to this movie, he was in "Train Quest" and "Family Tree," which I never heard of), and he's very good. Ever since Haley Joel Osment shocked the world with his amazing performance in "The Sixth Sense," the bar was raised for child actors. Although Tyler Hoechlin isn't Haley Joel Osment, he's very good. Daniel Craig (played "Alex West" in "Tomb Raider") is chilling as the main villain, and Stanley Tucci (a great actor who was most recently, in "Big Trouble"... he played "Richard Cross" in the first season of "Murder One," which I consider to be the best season of TV ever), as usual, is brilliant.
"Road to Perdition" was directed by Sam Mendes, who was known for directing theater in London and Broadway, but then he directed the great "American Beauty," and now he's known for that. He does an awesome job directing this movie, Sam Mendes is a huge talent. The screenplay was written by David Self, and I was surprised to see he wrote such a good movie. He wrote an awful movie called "The Haunting," and he also wrote "Thirteen Days," which was pretty good, but not great. I guess he improves with each screenplay he writes. His screenplay was based on the graphic novel by Max Allan Collins. Collins is a well respected writer who specializes in detective stories. He's written novels, but his biggest acclaim comes from "Batman" comics he wrote, as well as the "Dick Tracy" comic strip, which he wrote from 1977 through the early 1990s. By the way, I should mention that the artwork for the "Road to Perdition" graphic novel was done by Richard Piers Rayner.
Though there are some slow moments, "Road to Perdition" is a great film, and I recommend it highly. Also, if Paul Newman doesn't get an Oscar nomination, then something's up. Last time, Rick Baker didn't get nominated for his revolutionary work in an otherwise mediocre film, "Planet of the Apes," so it wouldn't be the first time the Academy dropped the ball.
Scale of 1-10: 9