So, I watched "Man on Wire" last weekend.
In all honestly, I hadn't heard of the movie until after a search on Rottentomatoes.com. It was kind of good, but far from the perfect status that it got on RT.com.
I use Rotten Tomatoes regularly since it provides an easy to view composite of hundreds of reviews and an easy to interpret "Tomatometer" percentage for every movie. At a glance, I can tell what -- on average -- movie reviewers think of a flick and base my viewing habits on their experience, tastes and collective knowledge. It usually works. If nothing else to weed out the crap. For "Man on Wire" it didn't.
Not wanting to waste my time on another crappy movie, I trusted the 100% "Certified Fresh" rank of "Man on Wire." One hundred percent of film critics loved this movie, a 2008 documentary of a high wire walk from the 1970s. I thought I had found an engrossing, captivating movie that would take my mind off the world for 90 minutes. Not so fast.
Here's a sample of the reviews:
- "It's a great deal of fun ..."
- "... exhilarating, palm-moistening documentary ..."
- "A highly entertaining and extremely accessible film."
- "... as gripping and suspenseful as a good heist film ..."
- "One of the most amazing cinematic experiences and achievements ..."
Pretty glowing stuff, don't you agree? My review? It was OK -- 2.5 stars out of 5. Mildly entertaining, but far from gripping or even captivating. I would have walked out bored if I saw it in the theater. The dude's story and passion, yes, were amazing. But, as a movie it just didn't take me away and engross me the way that I like to be "handled" by a movie.
Maybe I lack that "film buff" quality and sophistication. Or, maybe film "critics" are too stuffed in their own shirts? Not sure, but I do know that reviews and tastes are subjective. So, each to their own. But, if you're looking for "an exhilarating" movie, "Man on Wire" isn't it.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
