StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Helllins It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

disdressed12 those are two words to describe this drama/thriller.when drugs and violence take over your life and you spiral out of control,there is no way out.that's the case with Paul(Brendan Fraser)who sees no future and nothing but despair.greed and(self)hatred are his best friends.Fraser puts in in an astounding performance here proving he really has some acting chops.Scott Glenn is also good as Sinatra,Paul's father.but by far,the best actor in my mind is Mos Def,who plays Wemba.he really loses himself in the role.there is a fair bit of very strong language and brutal violence in this film,so be warned.for me,Journey to the End of the Night is an 8/10

Tony Camel Film Noir (literally 'black film') was a term created by French film scribes who noticed how 'dark', downbeat and black the textures and themes of many American crime and detective movies finally released in France following the WWII. (Films they hadn't been able to see under German occupation.) These B&W flicks initially came into vogue in the '40s, became more popular in the post-war era (especially as B-films, played behind more conventional cinema from Hollywood) and lasted up until the classic "Golden Age" to about 1960 -- or maybe 1958 -- as "Touch of Evil" is usually cited (by film professors) as the end of the classic noir period.It's interesting to note that film noir is not a genre, but rather a mood, style, point-of-view, or tone of a film. This tone can be blended with other genre's to form a most satisfying effect (most recently, the film "Brick" exploited noir conventions in High School setting!).Caper films, with its intricate plotting and criminal-characters existing on the periphery of society are some of the most significant examples of famous noir works. Most feature a "tone of pessimism, and darkness" and mainly share the form's visual style. But their main focus usually lies in the way they detail the strategies of the crime, that typically end up in fatal outcome, suggesting that there is a moral order to the universe, and that bad guys should not succeed.Crime Capers fall into several categories. In recent times, we've seen the jazzy stuff produced by Guy Richie and Soderbergh. In the 70s, we saw the existential masterpieces by Melville. In the eighties, we've seen caper films that were really romantic comedies at heart. Indeed, the fusion of capers has made its way into many a sub-categories heading.The same can be probably said for thrillers, although less fusions exist with classic thrillers. This category usually sticks to increasingly tense dramatic situation and if anything, veers into the realm of action films. Note that both "Fatal Attraction and "Basic Instinct" feature action set pieces that could easily be cut into a Bruckheimer film.JTTEOTN is not a caper film, a thriller, an actioner or even a straight noir -- its all those things, and none of them. "Journey to the End of the Night" suffers (wrongly) from being a not "instantly categorizable" work (not in the marketing sense, but in the processing sense; i.e, how our brains orient to story: who am I supposed to root for? Brendan Fraser? No. Scott Glenn? No. Mos Def, yes, finally, but not wholeheartedly, because even the saintly Wemba is a drug runner who undertakes his mission solely out of greed). Its these types of transgressions that play against the contemporary mores, and a viewer's desire to enjoin and identity (within the first ten minutes) with a hero. Still and all, I would argue, that it is precisely this break with convention that has such an a lasting effect on the viewer. And makes JTTEOTN a most powerful post-modern noir.

Melissa Rand What fun seeing a good ole fashion blood and guts, shoot 'em up noir. I felt like I was seeing a whole other side of the way crime thrillers could be made. This one uses sex, mostly in the backdrop and dialog in a hauntingly unerotic way--which speaks to the characters' misery and inability to feel pleasure. Not even sex or drugs can save them.Journey's plot is secondary to the indelible, painterly images; so much like Christopher Doyle's work that I had to stop the DVD and see who the cinematographer was. Scott Glenn rises to the occasion playing father and husband trying to make one last score so he can get out of the game. The old actor brings a lifetime of experience to the part. And really makes you invest emotionally in his plight. Also strong is Brendan Fraser, jumping out of his comedic pigeonhole and delivering an incredibly nuanced performance, at times funny, frightening and unforgettable.

rlange-3 It's interesting that so many people either rated this movie a 9-10 or a 1-2. I would suggest that those at the high end were dazzled by the setting and those at the low end were disappointed by the hodgepodge of what occurred there. I can't get excited enough to go to either extreme.I agree with those who said that Brazil was unused except perhaps as a marketing tool for the movie. There was virtually no interaction with the local culture except as a passive backdrop. The acting was uninspired. I didn't think Def was all that great, although at least he underplayed his pathetic role, unlike Fraser who was over the top to the point of ridiculous. In fact the only character that seemed decently played was the relatively obscure blind seer.The plot was full of holes, disjointed, and had no twists of any note. While others have detailed some of the major problems, I would add in the assertion that thieves set upon Def, knock him out, and then ignore the backpack laying next to him and run off without it. And he lays there in what appears to be a high crime district for quite some time and nobody chances by to see what might be in the backpack. You also have to swallow a gang packing all manner of weaponry who decides who they deal with and don't deal with based on which Nigerian dialect they speak. How's that again? I can make a million dollars doing a drug deal with you but only if you speak a specific language from my home country. Otherwise, the deal is off. Right. Then we have Def with a suitcase full of cash but unable to make a phone call. It wasn't clear why that might be exactly, but he never asks anyone for change, tries to change one of the bills in the pack, or does anything else to make what is supposed to be a critical call. Someone said he was cast in a racist and degrading role. I don't know about that, but he certainly seemed to be playing a character who was just plain stupid and unassertive. Quite a contrast with Hitchhiker, in which he was the hip insider. I'll take the latter.Still, there was some action, enough of a plot not to fall asleep on, a few bizarre characters of passing interest, some gore, a touch of sadism, interesting lighting at times ... I didn't fast forward it at any point. Mediocre but sufficiently entertaining to keep your attention. See it if the alternative is reruns on TV.