Road to Perdition (BLU RAY)

Directed by Sam Mendes
Written by David Self
Stars: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Daniel Craig, Jude Law

Director Sam Mendes followed up his grotesquely overrated Oscar winner American Beauty with this under appreciated adaptation of Max Allan Collins graphic novel, itself a loose reinvention of the classic Japanese manga Lone Wolf & Cub.
Set in the 1930’s, it tells the story of a loyal mob enforcer, Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks), whose young son stows away in his father’s car, leading to him witnessing a mob slaying carried out by Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig), the murderous son of Sullivan’s life-long employer and father figure John Rooney (Paul Newman). Connor attempts to tie-up loose ends and ensure that the young witness can’t talk, so he brutally slays Sullivan’s wife and other young son in a botched home invasion. Michael Snr and Jnr escape with their lives and hit the road, pursued by a haunted hired killer, Harlen Maguire (Jude Law). Largely dismissed upon its release, Road to Perdition boasts a standout cast (including Newman in his final screen performance) firing on all cylinders as well as stunning Cinematography by Conrad L. Hall, who died shortly after production and nabbed a posthumous Oscar for his work on this film. One of Mendes better efforts; it’s a violent and often time’s lyrical and elegiac take on the mobster genre that rewards the repeat viewer. Extras wise there’s a commentary by Mendes, deleted scenes, a featurette on Conrad Hall and the making of the film.