Dramatically and cinematically, the film is fabulous until the final third of its two hours, when everyone tries a tad too hard, from scriptwriter to director.
Comment
01/01/00
Absolute Power (1997)
46
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:39
Fresh:18
Rotten:21
Average Rating:5.6/10
Synopsis: In this slick political thriller, an emotionally disconnected, aesthetically refined master thief is out for one final score before retiring to his treasure-lined hideaway. But during a robbery at... [More]
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn
Director: Clint Eastwood
Reviews for Absolute Power
Top CriticNot one of Clint's best, but still better-than-average entertainment.
08/22/08
Eastwood is perfect as the bad guy you root for because he isn't nearly as bad as the other bad guys.
01/01/00
Doesn't rank with Eastwood's best work as actor/director, but it's nevertheless solidly enjoyable.
06/24/06
Lacks the consistency, depth and suspense that would put it in a league with Eastwood's best work.
01/01/00
A fairly routine thriller that gets high marks as a result of tight pacing and top-notch acting.
01/01/00
Eastwood films with his usual effortless pace, generating suspense practically out of thin air.
05/29/09
A pretty decent suspense movie, until its last half hour or so, which ends on a flaccid note and doesn't generate the needed resolution for the solid build-up that came before.
12/06/05
Almost a drawing room thriller, unhurried and genteel but enlivened with suspense and surprising bursts of sly, even biting, humor.
02/14/01
Top CriticYou could waste your time in many worse ways than watching this ensemble of old pros shoot and scratch at each other.
05/20/03
No review available.
02/24/04
No review available.
01/01/00
It's refreshing to think that good movies can still be made with only actors, a tight script, and some nice locations.
01/01/00
A first-rate thriller about arrogance at the top, a showdown between two kinds of Americans: the evil, omnipotent bureaucrat and the enterprising, mind-his- own-business loner.
06/18/02
The plot is a doomsday version of Bill Clinton's Paula Jones problem, but the theme is impending mortality--settling scores before time's up.
08/22/08
The ending of the film is rather abrupt, but most of the time this film runs as slick as oil, thanks to impeccable production standards, a solid script and good performances...
03/16/03
Not many thrillers slow down to notice relationships, but this one does.
01/01/00
Top CriticThis film, although watchable and enjoyable, makes me wonder if Eastwood burned himself out after the masterpiece of Unforgiven.
01/01/00
The picture might have gotten by if Eastwood had given it some impudent wit. But he directs to the rhythm of his facial muscles.
01/01/00
Sadly, any lofty artistic aspirations are quickly undone by the sheer ill-advised audacity of the story.
01/01/00
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