King Me

I just watched The Green Mile. It was a hit, but a lot of critics compared it to The Shawshank Redemption (which wasn't a hit) and found it wanting.

I can understand the comparison. It was Frank Darabont's first film since Shawshank, and both are period prison movies based on Stephen King.

Still, the resemblance is superficial. Shawshank is a fairly straightforward drama, while Mile is fantasy.

That said, I prefer Green Mile. Shawshank's bloated reputation (IMDB ranks it #2 all-time!) is a mystery to me. It's reasonably well done, with a nice escape sequence, but it's an episodic story with dull stretches and cliched characters.

Mile has a more entertaining plot and I'd say more interesting people. Sure, it's too long, has a "Magic Negro" (King is not good at creating African-Americans) and a horrendous framing device, but when it works, which is most of the time, it works pretty well. It even has an emotional punch which I don't really see in Shawshank.