ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

tadpdjango I'm not literary snob. So, please excuse my ignorance regarding how true the screenplay was to the author's original characters, story line and so forth... I just like a good movie.My wife and I found this film on IFC late one night while laying in bed. Neither one of us was often impressed at the excrement cranked out by Hollywood these days. But, this little indy film was just weird enough to suck us in. That was over 10 years ago.After seeing it (now) about 30 times, it is (obviously) part of my library... a household favorite. ... as is the main character, played fairly convincingly by Alec Baldwin. He portrays Dave Robicheaux, a thoroughly fallible, gritty and likable character. In this film all the characters get your attention. The story was good. The swamp was muggy as hell. That psycho POS Victor Romero was completely wack. Badja Djola was awesome as Batist... "You wanna be a duck, you?"Too many colorful characters to mention here. But they are many and very real. The overwhelming heat and humidity of the bayou was so palpable that you wanted to jump in the shower from time to time throughout the movie. The abundance of memorable lines testify to the skill of the writers and it's beautifully shot. BTW..... If you don't like the F word..... try Bambi on the next aisle.There's nothing at all wrong with this film."Hey Dave..! I got'cher Dreamsicle...hangin' down low." Eric Roberts was great as Bubba Rock. Terry Hatcher gets naked, if that's of any interest.But, Dave falling off the wagon is (alone) worth the price of admission."Minas Dautrieve- D.E.A...... the door was open".tadp

ECETeacher I found this movie so full of holes I am actually motivated to come and write a review. In the very first scene, Dave and his wife witness the plane crash and call it in, rescue a girl and take her home to raise as their own. 1. Why would you leave the scene when you have clearly stated your boats name and location and are a known witness to the accident. 2. Even if the girls mother has clearly died in the accident, do you not think she may have relatives, maybe even in your area? How dare this couple think she will be theirs? 3. They name her after Dave's mother. The girl is about 7 years old and clearly speaks Spanish in the hospital. A verbal girl should be called by her given name, not some name that I don't even recognize in English! This was in the first 10 minutes of the movie, but for me, the movie continued with as many loopholes that just made this painful to watch. I can't comment on the ending because I didn't stick with it.

erniemunger Stereotypical man-with-a-vengeance story set in the Mississippi delta. Ex-cop and ex-alcoholic Dave Robicheaux is witness to a plane crash, saves a kid from drowning and before he can say "Gin Ricky", gets involved in a largely obscure drug ring scheme. Heaven's Prisoners is a priceless example of pretty much everything that's annoying you (well, at least me) in mainstream US cinema. Like so many Hollywood action films, it celebrates core American values; that is, family values, abstinence, and doing yourself justice by shooting other people's encephalon out. It is clearly one of those intrinsically fraudulous stories where the whole plot is geared towards a vengeful killing spree, with the inciting incident being the murder, for no apparent reason, of the man's wife somewhere in mid-film (snore). The rest is accordingly shallow. Bubba Rocque, the film's bad boy character, is a pedantic and faggy Latino type straight from the gym. This ridiculous characterisation is only worsened by the fact that Eric Roberts's antics are at best a subliminal impersonation of Karl Lagerfeld gone gumbo. And the big boss man Didi Giancano is, how else could it be, a fat Italian mafioso who speaka no nonsense. The dialogues are as predictable as this year's flood, the pace lamer than a saltwater croc, and the intrigue just muddy waters. Fitting in with that picture, Heaven's Prisoners has inconsistencies and continuity goofs galore. A plane with drug smugglers goes down yet no-one, least something called "the police", seems to care except a (soloist and big-mouthed) FBI agent. After his wife gets murdered, Robicheaux drowns his sorrow in the bar owned by one of the killers (who, as we find out, were actually after him). Protagonists walk into other people's homes as if they were theirs, guys pull their guns in bars without so much as a glimpse by the patrons, men sweat their pants wet but the ladies are invariably spotless, all the joints in the area (a grand total of 2) run the same blues record etc etc. New Orleans could have made for a great atmospheric flick (as, for instance, Parker's depiction of Louisiana in Angel Heart) but it all remains sketchy here. Like the title, come to think of it. Bye-bye, blue Bayou.

bob_bear I thought the opening scene was one of the best movie openings I've ever watched - beautifully written and sensitively played.Drawn in from the outset, I was happy to watch the plot unfold. Yes, it could be argued that the main protagonist brings his troubles upon himself but that is hardly a plot fault - some people do.Problems with the film? I don't know why an actress of Mary Stuart Masterson's caliber should take on such a nothing role. And the plane crash looked cheap and unconvincing. Otherwise, I have no complaints. I love the books and I thoroughly enjoyed the film.I have read the previous reviews which seem to be critical for the most part and I am left wondering why they are so. I've watched a lot of rotten films and this certainly isn't one of them. I give it an eight out of ten. I enjoyed it.