Review of Greenmail

Greenmail (2002 Video)
7/10
Better than "Titanic." Rowan is great. Movie not bad.
15 October 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I don't usually enjoy "special effects" movies but this movie was an exception. For one thing, Kelly Rowan is a really, really good actress. Very realistic. For another, it was interesting learning about the different ways bombers can wreak havoc on the rest of us when they have the brains, resources and, needless to say, no humanity. Also it reminded me of the utter bravery of our "public servants," who risk their lives to protect society.

I have only seen Kelly Rowan a few times. Once on "DaVinci's Inquest," an old Canadian episode drama with an excellent cast that is the best thing on television, despite being all reruns, and despite not being aired on ABC until 1:30 or 2 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays (or later, depending on football). But then, beggars can't be choosers, she said as she yawned from lack of sleep.

Currently, Rowan also is very good as Peter Gallagher's wife on "The O.C.," a somewhat thankless role all things considered -- you know, its being on TV for the kids, not us grownups. (In fact, the series can only improve now that Misha Barton is, hopefully, never coming back. After all, she did die. Sure, she has a beautiful face. But her curve-less body and stick-like legs spoil that. Most important, she couldn't show emotion if her life depended on it. Like the untalented Cohen character, who is almost as bad an actor as Ms. Barton.)

As pure entertainment, Greenmail was not bad at all. Better than Titanic or one of those other overblown film excesses. Rowan, who is genuinely, outstandingly beautiful, and appears to have achieved that status without plastic surgery, seems to be excellent in everything she does. The rest of the cast was above average, as well. I especially enjoyed the bomb technician who portrayed realistic emotion when he thought he was going to be blown to smithereens. Of course, the Skerrit role (Rowan's retiring boss) had to die -- that was pretty obvious. But the way he died was not obvious and tied together a loose end.

All in all, I enjoyed this flick. Certainly much more than Titanic, which has earned more money than practically any other film and which I could not stand. (Can you tell?) But then, of course, not being a geek or nerd or electronic engineer or tracker of plastic explosives or Einstein or otherwise a genius, I found the movie enjoyable as pure entertainment. As a normal, average person, that is.
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