Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Grimerlana Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Clarissa Mora The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

wes-connors Severely abused and traumatized as a child, psychopathic Ray Liotta (as Lee Ray Oliver) is executed as an adult, by lethal injection… no, wait… Mr. Liotta wakes up in the care of likewise rough-looking but kindly doctor Willem Dafoe (as Michael Copeland). The hardened criminal is invited to participate in a medical research project; by taking a behavior modifying drug, Liotta will suppress violent tendencies and hopefully bring out remorse. Liotta answers, "I like drugs," but is disappointed when Mr. Dafoe tells him the drug has no narcotic effect. He beats up everybody and tries to escape, but Liotta takes his pills...Liotta proves to be a tough nut to crack, and some feel he is "faking it," but he is eventually deemed ready for the next phase of the experiment. Liotta is given an ankle bracelet, a monitored apartment, and some money to get started. So, what's going on with this dude… the best thing is, you can't really be sure. While Liotta and director Tim Hunter keep it tense and unpredictable, we meet the outside forces. His biggest threat appears to be Tim DeKay (as William "Bill" Caputo), brother of brain-damaged Liotta victim Mark Pickard (as Gary Caputo). Mr. DeKay seems badly in need of Dafoe's behavior modification pills...Liotta's hair and make-up does become distracting, especially during the second half, because this type of character probably wouldn't wear such obvious eyeliner without some explanation. Maybe he was in an '80s hair band... The "life flashes before your eyes" moment and blood drop forming a "chip on your shoulder" are well done. Characterizations are strong...From the beginning, we are given layers of nicely developed and carefully revealed facts about the co-starring characters played by Liotta and Dafoe. After Liotta becomes "Joe Monroe", he meets love interest Michelle Rodriguez (as Teresa), who becomes a believable attraction due to her own "starting over" story. It's also interesting to compare their "crime and punishment" state of affairs with DeKay's vengeful low-life. The four are intertwined nicely by writers Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin with director Tim Hunter. Excellent job, but the final sequences include a too definitive shock for one of the characters.******* Control (12/7/04) Tim Hunter ~ Ray Liotta, Willem Dafoe, Michelle Rodriguez, Tim DeKay

merklekranz In the film "Control" a doctor, (Willem Dafoe), is attempting to transform a violent criminal (Ray Liotta), into an acceptable citizen, through the use of an experimental drug. The story immediately involves suspending disbelief, as the convict, is spared death by lethal injection, to be released into the care of a pharmaceutical company for closely monitored experimentation. The fact that the pharma. company has their own goon squad to shadow the subject's every move, is a real stretch. Unlikely coincidences abound, like a pair of bolt cutters that just happen to be in the right place at the right time. The plot bumps along with few surprises to a rather rushed conclusion. The main interest in "Control" is seeing the two fine actors, Ray Liotta, and Willem Dafoe, on the screen together for the first time, and that is precisely why it is watchable. - MERK

toskippy The premise of this movie is a decent one, if done before in other ways. There are reasons why some movies go straight-to-video; the utter predictability, laughably clichéd scenes and obvious subplots intended to lengthen the film are these reasons. Ray Liotta's intensity at the beginning should have been capitalized upon, but he loses it halfway through. The movie has all the earmarks of being rewritten as it was being shot.Some observations: What purpose does it serve to have TWO people gunning for the Ray Liotta character? The corrupt warden and "Russian mafia" hit-man contribute nothing to the storyline and could easily have been left out. The avenging brother would have been enough, and was not fleshed out. Liotta showing remorse, trying to befriend and help the man he shot and crippled, beginning to live a normal life, only to have the angry brother whose life was ruined bent on revenge.... now that could have been a good movie.Do we really need to know the Dafoe character's personal life? What does this contribute? The way he tells the story of his murdered son should be shown to acting students as an example of bad "mailing it in" acting. "He looked up at me and said, I'll be alright Dad... and then he died." This only exists to prop up the cheesy end scene, which should never have been included. A better ending would be to have Liotta die, and that's it! Gee, the undercover guys driving around in a large dark colored van. How original. And the pursuers all driving identical black sedans. Not original at all... and the "blood dripping on the shoulder" flashback scene was shown far too often. Gotta justify that CGI expenditure, I suppose.Why were the drugs taken as pills? Why not injections to make SURE? Why was the doctor allowed to go into Liotta's cell where he could be easily attacked? How is it that Defoe was beaten by Liotta the first time, but the second time Dafoe suddenly gets fighting skills and beats Liotta to a pulp? Ah, there is plenty more to pick at, but to save time, stay away from this one.

pchristi-1 Great idea. Great acting. But the script lacks consistency in the 2nd half of the movie. This is a rookie mistake, and they could learn from the TV show 24. Even if you do things that are not believable, you have to follow up with consistency, and the film does not do this. This could have been a great movie, but they turned it into a Psychology 101 nightmare with lame references to control groups and placebos that we all learned in Psyche 101. It is watchable, but it is a disappointment because of what it could have been. I give it a 5 only because the great acting and great original concept. DaFoe is great, as usual, and the top actors all did their best, obviously thinking that this was a marketable, tight film. Maybe they didn't take Psyche 101.