Arlington Road was an excellent film that takes you on a fast roller coaster thrill ride. Without a dull moment, the film hits its peak when an FBI investigator and crime forensics professor (Kurt Russel) discovers the criminal terrorist background of his shady neighbor and antagonist (Tim Robbins).
Things go from bad to worse quickly for the paranoid professor/investigator whose wife was killed during an FBI sting gone bad in the events of history that took place before the time-line that the film encompasses.
After the professor uncovers the evil bombing plot of Robbins' character, who is living under an alias, and across the street from the good professor, things go south fast. First some tense conflicts ensue, followed by Russel's girlfriend being killed in a "car accident," after getting caught doing some of her own re-con. work, finally escalating to Russel's 9 year old son being kidnapped by Robbins' character before the climatic final 10 minute sequence.
Obviously this review is a retrospective, and is intended for those who have viewed the film. With that said, I would like to discuss the climatic ending sequence that quickly became so very anti-climatic to traditionalists such as myself: Why did the bad guys win this one? This film set up all the right pieces for a huge battle at the end between Robbins and Russel, and in the end it was Robbins' evil plot that won. It just didn't add up.
Russel's character got set up, killed and framed for the entire evil plot. THE END - The bad guys win??? I'm not denying that this certainly added a unique twist to the typical hero/villain story, especially in reference to a plot based on the terrorist attacks of Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City federal building bombing of 1995. It definitely left you scratching your head, begging for revenge, and wondering why so much injustice was dealt to protagonist, in the same spirit of mega hit "Se7en".
The film, now over a decade old hasn't received a version with a plot-changing alternative to date (although alternate endings exist). Personally, I would suggest a revival of this story with a choice of an alternative ending where the bad guys lose and get caught by the FBI along with a warm reunion between Russel and his son. I suppose that enough films with that level of vindication exist, but this was a very well done film and deserves that sort of fanfare to allow for a broader appeal. Just my 2 cents...
Things go from bad to worse quickly for the paranoid professor/investigator whose wife was killed during an FBI sting gone bad in the events of history that took place before the time-line that the film encompasses.
After the professor uncovers the evil bombing plot of Robbins' character, who is living under an alias, and across the street from the good professor, things go south fast. First some tense conflicts ensue, followed by Russel's girlfriend being killed in a "car accident," after getting caught doing some of her own re-con. work, finally escalating to Russel's 9 year old son being kidnapped by Robbins' character before the climatic final 10 minute sequence.
Obviously this review is a retrospective, and is intended for those who have viewed the film. With that said, I would like to discuss the climatic ending sequence that quickly became so very anti-climatic to traditionalists such as myself: Why did the bad guys win this one? This film set up all the right pieces for a huge battle at the end between Robbins and Russel, and in the end it was Robbins' evil plot that won. It just didn't add up.
Russel's character got set up, killed and framed for the entire evil plot. THE END - The bad guys win??? I'm not denying that this certainly added a unique twist to the typical hero/villain story, especially in reference to a plot based on the terrorist attacks of Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City federal building bombing of 1995. It definitely left you scratching your head, begging for revenge, and wondering why so much injustice was dealt to protagonist, in the same spirit of mega hit "Se7en".
The film, now over a decade old hasn't received a version with a plot-changing alternative to date (although alternate endings exist). Personally, I would suggest a revival of this story with a choice of an alternative ending where the bad guys lose and get caught by the FBI along with a warm reunion between Russel and his son. I suppose that enough films with that level of vindication exist, but this was a very well done film and deserves that sort of fanfare to allow for a broader appeal. Just my 2 cents...