drjgardner

In a long and prestigious career, Michael Douglas has delivered many good performances, some of which are even very good. In Franklin, he shines as never before. "Michael Douglas as Ben Franklin?" you're thinking and so did I. No one had more skepticism than I when viewing this series. Then it happened. First, it was the speech. He sounds like Franklin (I should know, I've researched him for my own book). Not merely the words, but the tone, the spaces, etc. Then the mannerisms. He's even got the walk down to perfecting. The last thing was the face. Yes, I could see that it was Michael Douglas playing Franklin, but eventually I stopped seeing him and just saw Franklin. Of course, he isn't there alone. The rest of the cast is wonderful too. Why a 9 and not a 10. The photography and direction are also exceptional,. But they don't earn the top marks as does the acting.

John Wick 4 was by far the worst, but this one comes in next. Forget about the extra loud sound effects and forget about the extra loud music. Let's focus on the flaws. (1) There is no super villain whom you are afraid the assassin will have trouble killing. (2) the introduction of the sister was completely wasted. (3) The fact that a small woman gets hit, kicked, sliced, and bludgeoned by 300 pound men and keeps fighting is hard to believe. (4) The killings at the Continental are against rules yet happen so easily. (5) John Wick is wasted.

It's not all bad. The fire fight is terrific - inventive and done well.

Bring a pillow and some earplugs. This film is at least 30 minutes tooooooo long. The time spent in an underwater sub goes on and on and on. The air fight similarly doesn't want to end. And there must be at least 6 scenes of him running, running g, running, and then running. He runs so fast he can outrun nuclear blasts. Pretty good.

If the length doesn't bore you to death, the music will break your eardrums. Sit at least 20 rows from the screen to avoid medical disaster.

It's not completely worthless. There are a few good actors in the film and a few scenes with tight direction. Also, the filming is done well.