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.
Absolute Power (1997)
Tomatometer
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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... 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 a mansion near Washington, he witnesses a bizarre sex murder involving the President of the United States. As the president's slimy handlers frantically cover the crime up, the career criminal--and only outside witness--becomes the Secret Service's prime target. His relationship with his estranged daughter hangs in the balance. Adapted from the best-selling novel by David Baldacci. [More]
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Judy Davis, E.G. Marshall, Dennis Haysbert, Laura Linney, Melora Hardin
Director: Clint Eastwood
Director: Clint Eastwood
Screenwriter: William Goldman
Story: David Baldacci
Composer: Clint Eastwood, Lennie Niehaus
Producer: Karen S. Spiegal, Clint Eastwood
Reviews for Absolute Power
The picture might have gotten by if Eastwood had given it some impudent wit. But he directs to the rhythm of his facial muscles.
Sadly, any lofty artistic aspirations are quickly undone by the sheer ill-advised audacity of the story.
Can't believe William Goldman wrote this crap, or that Eastwood, Hackman, Harris, and Davis bothered to get involved with it either.
Clint Eastwood...produced, directed and stars in this generally lunatic, occasionally pathetic and more often comically inept endeavor.
The script calls for no bold statements about the politics of the White House, which makes the film rather weak in purpose.
The plot and its resolution requires simply too much disbelief to be suspended by the audience...
Mr. Hackman languishes in the smallish role of a White House buffoon, with Judy Davis equally cartoonish as his witchy chief of staff.
This is just a better makeup job on the same misogynist theme: live woman = nothing; dead woman = power.
For all the suspense the film does generate, the fairly flat climax is a disappointing payoff.
Unintentional yuks litter an otherwise somber political thriller adapted from David Baldacci's novel.
Dunderheaded fantasy about noble thieves and corrupt commander-in-chiefs.
Um filme inconstante que alterna bons momentos com outros muito fracos.
...suffers from the same pathology as Bridges of Madison County; a weakness of source material.
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