A History of Violence (2005)

Posted : 10 months, 4 weeks ago at Dec 26 18:36

I always give David Cronenberg the benefit of the doubt thanks to his 1986 sci-fi masterpiece The Fly, but with that benefit comes a certain degree of expectation that he will deliver a great film. Coupled with Viggo Mortensen - an actor you can generally expect a decent performance from - you have a duo that can't really fail to deliver an entertaining film. At least that's what I thought. A History of Violence follows Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) as he goes about his unassuming and modest life working in a diner. He lives in a nice house and has a loving caring family and the film goes to great lengths to rub in just how perfect (yet modest!) his existence is, before one fateful day. About to close up one night, his diner is harassed by two small-time criminals who threaten to execute ...Read more

Rating : 5/10

Posted : 1 year, 8 months ago at Feb 27 19:30

I found this film, to be extremely entertaining, with a great story, and great acting. I do not recall, any cheesy scenes at all. The action, in this film, is great. Viggo Mortenson, is excellent, in "A History Of Violence". This is one of his better films, he has done.

Rating : 10/10

Posted : 2 years, 8 months ago at Mar 7 2:19

i love this film. it's very literary. the conflict and the tension is so well handled. i like the complications. and everyone should watch out for viggo mortensen's fighting scenes. it's both violent and humorous.

Rating : 10/10

Posted : 2 years, 10 months ago at Jan 1 17:34

I'm another person that had high expectations for this movie but was very disappointed. While it wasn't a bad movie, it wasn't great and it definitely didn't live up to the trailer.

For me, A History of Violence was boring. There was nothing that really made me want to keep watching it. I think it's somewhat overrated. I generally watch most movies more than once, but this one I won't be watching again.

Rating : 5/10

Posted : 2 years, 11 months ago at Dec 10 13:49

I really had high expectations for this movie, but it really failed me. I thought the concept was good, but it wasn't written very well and far too predictable. It contains some of the cheesiest movies scenes in recent memory (see son's high school scenes, William Hurt entrance at the end). I still don't get why people like this movie. Overall, its anticlimactic finale left me with a bad taste and sorry that I had wasted two hours watching this mess.

Rating : 3/10

Posted : 2 years, 12 months ago at Nov 23 15:15

I really appreciated Viggo Mortensen's 180 role reversal when violence released the dark side of his past. But as his relationship with Maria Bello changed I didn't expect nor accept the forgiveness of his new family.

Rating : 8/10