Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Penny An interesting character study that could've done so much more, but ends up kind of having tunnel vision. Linus Roache's portrayal of RFK as the mourning brother becoming his own man is well done, but the script doesn't do enough justice to the levels of complexities surrounding his grief and ultimately his becoming a champion of the minorities and the downtrodden. Every issue seems the same repetitive cycle. First there is a call to action by RFK's advisers -- who are generally indistinguishable and more or less interchangeable, in that there is little character development on anyone's part outside of RFK himself. Then Bobby dithers on whether he should take a stand in a "damned if I do, damned if I don't" way. At some point Jack's ghostly presence chastises him. And after another scene of Bobby interacting with the people, he suddenly decides to make the decision that had always been suggested TO him. Wash, rinse, repeat. You get the feeling that Bobby doesn't so much come off as a man of strength of forming his own convictions, but one of a wild pet that has to be trained to think like a politician. Perhaps that was the point; I'm not sure.That being said, if that were the film's only flaw, I'd have probably been okay with it. The problem is, it seems to gloss over everything in his life that isn't his political career. As mentioned before, there is little to no character development outside of RFK himself. His wife, Ethel, comes off as glib and shallow -- and no mention is made of the fact that she was probably pregnant through half the time period the film takes place; Bobby and Ethel Kennedy had 11 children (one was born after his death), and other than a shot of two or three of them from afar once or twice, little mention is made that they are even parents. (Not to mention that he became sort of a surrogate father to JFK's kids, as well.) Shouldn't they at least be seen around the house more, or on the campaign trail with him? The film would have also done well to focus more around events and actions, and less around time spent in RFK's own headspace. One of the other reviewers mentioned the 1964 Democratic Convention, where people stood and cheered for him for over 20 minutes before he could speak -- the cheering overwhelmingly, of course, being for his brother's memory and not for RFK himself. I agree. Instead of Bobby simply saying those things after nondescript events, show it. Or the fact that RFK so soon declared his candidacy for the Presidency after Eugene McCarthy won the New Hampshire primary (they only mention beforehand that he's running); the movie makes it seem like he arbitrarily came to the decision. Showing just how much he had to catch up, the time frame we're talking about, would've added a whole new level of complexity to his character -- how sometimes historical events WERE what forced him to make a decision, but he rose to the occasion above them.Lastly, this film also suffers because people really have to know their history to understand what's going on. This is the first film I've ever seen where the uneducated viewer has to pay attention to the opening credits to get a sense of context, since the film opens with JFK's assassination. Names and events were thrown around as though everyone knew exactly what or who they were and why they were important; if one didn't know that RFK worked for Joseph McCarthy or prosecuted the Teamsters' Union, it might be hard to pick up through their rapid-fire conversation; the film sort of throws the viewers into this universe and forces them to work backward. A flashback or two, or an extra scene or two before JFK planned to go to Dallas illustrating better the kind of man Bobby was before November 22, 1963, and the kind of bond the brothers shared would've made the rest of the film more powerful. Instead, it's all idle chatter.It wasn't a bad film, and the concept worked; it just could've executed it better in so many ways by slightly expanding its scope and glossing over what seems important.

the-DRIVE I'm fascinated by the Kennedy family ( to the point of reading over sixty books, having several vintage magazines, and collecting everything I can find ), and if this movie was anymore factually inaccurate, it'd be a Harry Potter film.They show RFK as a schizophrenic nitwit who only sailed along on JFK's coattails, and saying he believed MLK was a Communist ( even when it's known that J. Edgar Hoover was pushing JFK & RFK to bug MLK's home because of Hoover's vendetta ), claims he was obsessed with his brother's flight jacket ( when in reality, he carried it but also lost it several times, which has been noted like a burden - constantly carrying it but also wanting to get rid of it subconsciously ), and suggests LBJ wanted RFK as a running-mate ( when it's known that LBJ & RFK despised each other ).This deserves to be up next to "Gigli," and far, far away from the Kennedy name.

caspian1978 First things first, I'm glad to see another movie that takes place in America that was totally filmed in Canada! Second, RFK should be the last film about RFK that the world should have to see for the next 20 years. We saw a side of RFK in the movie Hoffa. We saw another side of RFK in the HBO movie on the RAT PACK. And we've seen a handful of RFK sides in all those movies made on the Bay of Pigs and Cuba crisis and the others like it. Now, all that is left to make on RFK is the side of him that only RFK knew. The inner man, caught up with his own identity and the man that stood in the shadows of his brother JFK. It was good to see this kind of movie be made, then again, it doesn't do anything for the RFK genre which died years ago. Consider this movie the final nail in the RFK movie coffin. It's sad to say that a movie like this would not have been made in 1970, a few years after his death. Only now, when he and everybody close to him is now dead, does the American public get to see a movie showing these sides of the man's life. That's why Primary Colors is so credited since it was so much about Bill Clinton's legacy and it was filmed and shown during Clinton's administration.

andydufresne I have for many years now felt that Robert F Kennedy was the greatest of the 4 Kennedy Brothers. This movie did nothing to change that but did give the view that RFK was very much haunted by the memory of his brother John.While John was driven mostly by his father's desire to see one of his son's achieve greatness by becoming President of the United States. Robert seems almost reluctant to take up that torch and according to this story does so only when he realizes that the only way he can do the things he believes need to be done for the his country is by winning the Oval Office.Roache does a marvelous job of looking and sounding like RFK. James Cromwell does a good job as LBJ. He is a fine actor just doesn't seem as over the top as the real LBJ was. David Paymer is his usual best and Ving Rhames is excellent in a somewhat small but important part as "Judge Jones".The movie takes place between the Assassinations of John and Robert. It shows how Bobby goes from concerned to actually caring.There's some good 60's music in it but you don't notice it a lot.I'm writing this on Aug 25, 2002. The movie will be re-run next Wed. It's worth your time. At a time when we last had two men who were most interested in being President regardless of whether or not he'd won the election....this movie will make you wonder why we can't have men and women of great ideals and political courage today. Yes my friends there truly was a time when if someone was running for office and said he intended to help poor people he meant it and was held to his promise. If you know little about Robert Kennedy then prepare to be impressed by a great man.